


Vagabond

by PhylaLayla



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Nivanfield, Piers Nivans Lives, Post-RE6, Slow Build, and bad language, and drives through the US with Chris in a trailer, and meeting old ones, kinda angsty, living in hiding, making new friends, now it took over my life, rated M for sex in later chapters, the BSAA is after them, this started out as a oneshot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 06:03:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 49
Words: 167,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9587036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhylaLayla/pseuds/PhylaLayla
Summary: Everyone wants Piers Nivans rather dead than alive. Just one person sticks with him, ready to risk his own life, Chris Redfield. So they make their escape, buy a trailer and spend the rest of their days on the move from their fate. How bad can it be? It doesn't even sound easy in the first place...So the hunt begins.





	1. On The Run

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so first serious fanfic. Vagabond was supposed to start out as a Oneshot but just kept getting longer after some time. I really don´t know how I thought the idea of them being on the run would fit in a Oneshot, really...  
> On a happy note, I can almost guarantee you guys weekly updates since I already wrote a great deal of this. I know it starts slow, yeah it does, but I personally like what´s to come. Two more things that you should be aware of:  
> 1\. This fic was heavily inspired by Harvincy´s 'Not Like This'. This fanfic used to be my favorite Nivanfield fanfic, sadly... I can´t seem to find it anymore. (Or Harvincy at that) I don´t know if I´m just being stupid or it´s really gone. If you know something about it, maybe hit me up...?  
> 2\. I´m NOT American, so I have no damn clue, what so ever, how long you need to travel a certain distance. I know you need around 9 hours from Germany to Italy, so the time I planned in for certain parts of distance is probably way too exaggerated. Sorry for that. Hell, English isn´t even my first language. I´m really doing my best to edit it as good as I can (meaning all the typos, etc.) but I´m sorry if something sounds off or anything.   
> Oh, and please note that I throw a lot of headcanons in there like that Piers is from Nebraska *shrug*

**Vagabond**

 

  
_(First and) Second State: (Idaho and) Montana, 25th of September 2013_

 

He gave up everything for him. His house. His job. Literally everything.

  
"You didn´t have to do it..." That led to this situation of said person just sitting next to him and blaming him and complaining without end.   
He tried real hard, reminded himself why he did what he did but with Piers´ never-ending and constant nagging it got hard.   
Shouldn´t the boy be grateful, dammit?!

  
"You ruined everything, you know...? They could have done their thing to me... it would have been okay..."  
Chris pulled over to the side of the road. On a rather popular road in the middle of nowhere, where the speed limit was apparently endless, not the most safest thing to do.

  
Chris calmly counted to ten in his head, stared dead ahead as Piers looked at him with wide eyes.

  
"..." He had done everything.

  
_When the news from HQ came that they would put down Piers, no matter anything, Chris was furious. But nothing he could do, really. The virus was still present in Piers´ body and even if he proved that he could stay in control even in immense stress like tests proved, the higher up´s wouldn´t take the risk._

  
_"It´s okay...", he had said. "If that is what command wants..." Chris couldn´t understand how Piers could just accept his fate. Maybe it was the fact that he almost died once already or his strong sense of obedience but...he was fine with it._

  
_This day, when Chris had entered his hospital room and he stood there by the window, dressed in uniform, almost made him think everything was like before. But that wasn´t Piers´ original uniform and they would not leave for a mission. They would leave for execution._

  
"You... just shut up!" Chris grunted the other one´s way before he slowly drove the trailer back on the street. He had no time to argue with the kid. He had to bring more distance between them and HQ. But he had already told himself that two states ago.

  
Piers was now silent, awkwardly leaned his weight on his scarred right arm and shifted against the passenger door, looking out the window. The landscape had long become foreign and if he was honest he had no idea where they were anymore, yet alone where they headed. Chris had the map and he refused to let him look at it at all cost. Piers assumed he couldn´t read it and got them lost some time ago.

  
_It was barely a week since Chris had come to get him for his execution but halfway through the complex of HQ Chris had began taking weird turns and after 5 more minutes Piers was sure they were neglecting the way they were supposed to take._   
_"Sir... I don´t think...", and suddenly it had become so complicated as sirens all over the place went off and Chris yelled aggressively towards him to run. His reflexes kicked right in and he sprinted towards the nearest exit he remembered._

  
_"Freeze!" But the door opened by itself and he stared down the barrel of a gun. Well, considering this was the view he prepared himself all week for, it felt strangely.. anticlimactic._

  
_Chris came to a stop merely a meter behind him, desperately huffing._

  
_"Captain Redfield..."A group of four soldiers suddenly stood in front of them. The one with the gun in hand spoke. "Where do you actually think you´re going with Nivans?" He tried to play tough but the sniper saw the slight shivers that caused the gun to shake. For a brief moment he wondered who his comrade was more afraid of. Chris or him?_

  
_"...I´ll take him with me.", was Chris´ short but determined response. Piers tried to turn around to look at him but the gun made contact with his forehead and the cold metal on his skin made him freeze._   
_"You do?", came the mocking tone right back. Piers wondered how he even allowed himself to speak like this towards Chris. "You´ve been just freed from all your privileges." Maybe because of that, Piers swallowed nervously._   
_He and Chris got forcefully pushed in the other direction again and for a moment only the steps on the white tiles of the hallway could be heard. Chris next to him started whispering._

  
_"When I say now... you attack. And when I say attack I mean it. No holding back because these are BSAA." Chris´ voice was too deep and husky to not have been heard._

  
_"What was that, 'Captain'?"_

  
_"Do it now!" Once again Piers´ body responded all by it´s own and he whirled around, getting a firm grip on that soldier´s wrist and actually, for the first time since Lanshiang, used the electricity to make him pass out and collide right onto the floor. The reaction was instant and a total of three guns were immediately aimed towards him._   
_"..." The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Slowly he tried to make out where Chris was. All the other soldiers were just having eyes for him so they never paid attention to Chris._

  
_"Argh-!" The first soldier fell to the ground, revealing the sight of Chris who legitimately just snapped his head. He drew his gun faster than they could pull the trigger._   
_The second soldier fell to the ground as Chris shot him in the area around his chest. He had aimed for his legs..._   
_The last one standing was shakingly taking aim at Chris but Piers´ lightning wasn´t something he could deal with. His body twitched on the floor. "...!" Piers stared in horror at what they had just done. Two out of four were definitely dead. They had killed them. Normal humans, no infected._

  
_His eyes wandered up again and disbelievingly found Chris´. Just in that moment Piers realized he had no idea if Chris ever killed a perfectly fine human being before. The way he still seemed totally collected made him see his captain with other eyes._   
_"Nivans!" Chris yelled him out of his shocked state of mind. "Move it!"_

  
_Piers instantly took the way he was denied earlier. When they pushed open the wide double doored exit, the fresh air outside hit him like a wall. After all he had spent so much time in quarantine..._   
_Chris pushed him hard, almost making him stumble over before roughly grabbing his hand and dragging him off the base. They were incredibly lucky and made it into the woods without getting tailed._   
_From there on out it had been exciting, hard, depressing, relieving, sad._

  
_The first day they just kept walking through the forest without any idea where they were, just bringing distance in between. The second day they broke out of the green hell and found a small village. The third day Chris had bought a horribly cheap looking trailer from his last money. On the fourth day they had already left Washington._

  
_In all this time there was barely dialogue between them. It was like Piers was in trance. Everything happened so fast and he had no idea how to feel about this. Here and there they would stop in a run-down diner or shop to buy food or clothing. They purposefully chose big and messy locations so people likely wouldn´t remember their faces. Even if Piers was kinda hard to forget with all the scars in his face, so Chris would make sure to park the trailer in the shadows and advance alone. It were these moment Piers had time to think._

  
_What would they do now? They couldn´t always be on the run until the end of their days. Chris left everything behind. His career, his personal life. Was he really that important? More important like Claire for example? Probably not. Maybe Chris was just feeling guilty... but was it worth it to throw everything away then? How long would they still be able to live from Chris´ last few dollars? Where would they park the trailer tonight to sleep a bit without raising suspicion? When would the BSAA finally catch up to them...? When would he die? And what would they do to Chris then?_   
_They never talked about these fears even if Piers knew Chris had them too. It was in the way he thrashed around at night, mumbling terrible things of events in the past and present. Of his fears. Of losing. Piers knew they were both in a fragile state._

  
"Piers..." Said ex-sniper ripped himself off the view of ...Montana, he supposed.

  
"Yes?" "I´m sorry...", Chris mumbled out of nowhere and Piers looked over to him, surprised.

  
"Not for what you think. I´m not sorry for leaving the BSAA behind or my home... for the house was never a place where I stayed in for long or found comfort in. And regarding... the BSAA, it had long stopped being 'my' organization..."  
"...What?" Piers asked intellectual which got Chris chuckling for a moment.

  
"I founded this organization many years ago together with Jill and a few other folks. It was small back then. It just started expanding this rapidly after the incident on the Queen Zenobia, then we got all the equipment from the FBC. The BSAA grew so big I lost sight of many things that were important... Jill was there to back me up but now... even she is against us. Seems like the BSAA doesn´t care about me or my opinion anymore. It was time to leave this place." Chris mused aloud and stretched a little in the driver´s seat.

  
"Maybe... I just grew too comfortable in one place, Piers. Maybe I should be grateful that you broke me out of my routine. Not gonna lie... I like the 'Driving around the United States, being on the run' thing. Then I was young I watched a lot of old series and stuff. Thought it was kinda cool back then." Piers just continued to stare at him like the man in front of him was someone else entirely. Chris Redfield always liked keeping secrets. Being at arm´s length with his coworkers. And in this little second, Piers thought, he learned more about this man, who was supposed to be his Captain, then in working 4 years side by side with him.

  
Piers´ lips twisted in a little smile. Chris caught himself wanting to print this image into his head, so rare were the occasions Piers smiled so honest and so carefree.   
"I see.~ You never told me much about you 'back then'. Had to ask Claire all the time." Chris almost lost the fucking street. "You... You did what?!"

  
"I asked your sister." Piers admitted honestly and he had never thought that could be so easy to say.   
"About what?!" "About you." "You´re a fucking stalker!" Chris laughed loud and Piers almost flinched. The man could be loud as fuck sometimes... so not like he himself...

  
"Just trying to please my captain.", he shrugged but at the same time wanted to cringe at the honesty of these words. He had a goddamn problem...  
"Anyways..." Chris cleared his throat and Piers realized he got uncomfortable as well. "All I wanted was to say sorry for bringing you into this situation..."   
The sniper hummed before letting his smile shine through once more. "They would have killed me if it wasn´t for you. Should I really complain?"

  
There was a small silence in the trailer. "Well, you always complain, that´s how I know you. Earlier you did it too."   
Piers had to realize that he did complain a lot. In fact, he did it so often he rarely noticed it anymore. "Whatever...", he huffed and turned away again. There were so many things they had to talk about but once again chose to be silent. Like mumbling to himself he asked: "...Where are we headed now?"

  
Chris had troubles understanding the question in the first place with Piers covering half his mouth with the hand he leaned on, but when he did he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

  
"...Don´t know..." Piers sighed. "That´s just great..."

  
"Look!" Chris jumped up a little in irritation. "We´re driving east, okay? Maybe... Minnesota. Minnesota is nice."   
"And then?" The older soldier hated it how Piers could never let things happen. The sniper ace liked to plan. Plan everything weeks before into the last detail. Chris was the opposite.

  
"We´ll change names, I´ll get a job. You never saw one of these movies, did you, Nivans?"   
"Nah, was too busy actually caring about my future..." He threw a poisonous look towards Chris. He got the message. The kid could still not understand, to this day, how he became Captain of Alpha Team with dropping outta high school.

  
"Where do I fit in your plan, old man?" Piers began playing with his shemagh out of pure boredom. His original one got destroyed in China but when he woke up in the hospital, Chris left a new one on his bedside. They never talked about it besides a quick 'Thank you' from Piers but he was actually really glad.

  
"Let´s see... You´re bossy as hell. You like house chores. What would that make you, kid?" Piers growled at the pet name. He was no kid, goddammit. Chris would have to know this by now...  
"Your wife?" "My wife!" Chris agreed, laughing. The younger one couldn´t believe they had this conversation. Where had they gone wrong? He hadn´t meant it at all, more like a joke. Good to know Chris liked the idea...

.  
Chris continued fast. "You have these scars... Don´t get me wrong, I... like them? I guess. But everyone else..." "Gets totally freaked out. Believe me, I noticed." Piers finished.

  
"..." The awkward tension rose again with Chris staring dead ahead on the street. He wanted to say something, anything. But the China mission was still a thing he and Piers simply did not talk about. Just as everything regarding it.

  
"What about Nebraska?" Piers finally said and Chris lay his head to the side, thinking.

  
"What´s in Nebraska?", he asked back, a little smile on his lips. "...My parents..."

  
Chris´ head turned over to Piers in an instant. The kid never talked much about his parents, hell, until now Chris didn´t even know he was from Nebraska. "You trust them?"  
"My mom with my life. My dad... not so much.", he answered truthfully. Chris thought about it a moment but Piers already continued talking.

  
"I´m not asking here to live with them. I know this could be dangerous, especially with my father being the most reliable soldier on this planet." Piers rolled his eyes. "I´m just asking for Nebraska... I miss the landscape."  
"I see... Nebraska it is, then!~" Chris exclaimed grinning and concentrated on the road again.

  
It had long become dark outside when they were still driving hours later. Piers had fallen asleep on the passenger´s seat while Chris still searched for a good place to park the trailer.   
They had left the highway half an hour ago and Chris made his way through little bumpy paths in the mountains. He was driving extremely cautious but the old vehicle still crunched and crackled aloud. How Piers could sleep like this, he had no idea.

  
When he finally parked it in a dark place covered by trees a few meters away from the actual road, another 20 minutes had passed. Exhausted, he pulled out the key from the ignition.

  
For a little while he just sat there and looked out into the blackness of the night. This kind of reminded him how he had to stay the nights in Claire´s bedroom when she couldn´t sleep. How was she now? He wondered if the BSAA told her that he 'turned sides'. He wondered if they searched her place for traces of him. To tell the truth here... he missed her. But there was no going back anymore.

  
"...Chris?"

  
The Captain of Alpha Team looked over to his right to find Piers watching him with a slightly worried expression on his face. Or maybe he was just tired.

  
"Yeah...?", he asked back quietly, almost whispering. A little smile appeared on Piers´ face.  
"Alright.~ Already thought you had an attack there..." Piers yawned and stretched himself. Chris knew he shouldn´t but he watched every movement.

  
They both had mental problems, Chris wasn´t going to lie about it. In his case it started in 2009, in Kijuju. After he killed Wesker and got Jill back from the nightmare she had been stuck in, bioterror got a hold of him. He started seeing things, hearing them. But it wasn´t as bad as he had seen it plague other people. The BSAA advised him a therapist. And since then it had been better. Then Edonia happened...

  
Piers, on the other hand, was an individual with a strong mind. He was young. He was healthy. He was fine. Before... because after the Lanshiang mission the younger one had just the same problem like him. PTSD was just a thing that happened to a soldier. The only question was 'when?'.

  
"Nah... you notice when I have a real attack..." Chris tried to make it sound cheerful but it had the opposite effect on Piers and made him frown.   
"Nevermind, go back to sleep, Piers." Chris grunted as he ran both his hands through his face. He was getting too old to drive for hours without end.

  
"You too...", the younger one hesitantly mumbled before getting up from the passenger´s seat and grabbing Chris´ hand firmly.

  
Something sparked inside Chris and he knew what it was. But it was something he also forbid himself to think of. "..."  
Slowly he got up and followed Piers into the back of the vehicle where their 'bed' was located. They passed the small kitchen with a fridge to their right. On the left was a closet, not really big but enough for their few belongings anyway.

  
Then they finally arrived in the back with a battered looking couch with a small table in front of it and a tiny TV standing on it. They moved the table further in the middle of the room, away from the couch. They folded it out, it was still small as shit but both soldiers were used to little comfort while sleeping.

  
Sleeping next to someone was, however, something they still had to get used to. Piers barely had relationships in his young life. If he did, they broke fast due to his dedication for the army. Chris... didn´t have a warm body next to his in forever, he realized. His job consumed his private life for some time now. Sure, somewhere in between he had some encounters. Other then that he was living like a priest. Not considering the killing zombies for a living part.

  
Their bodies were so used to being at alert even while sleeping they hardly had found a calm minute the first night. The nights after, when they did, the nightmares played their part also. When one of them did have one and thrashed around, it kept the other one awake as well.

  
Piers grabbed his night wear and disappeared into the way too small bathroom while Chris changed as well.   
He threw a look onto the couch. Piers had made sure to buy new, fresh covers and throw them over but at the arm and back rest you could still see... things. This trailer was old, of course, it was the cheapest thing this weird dude, he bought it from, had. But there had been more than one perverted encounter this couch had to endure. He shuddered thinking of it.  
Piers returned not long after and dropped onto their couch like a dead man. Chris gave a quick chuckle before turning off the lights and laying down as well.

  
"Good night, Piers.", he whispered into the darkness and the only response he got was an acknowledging but tired grunt.


	2. Warm Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris and Piers find themselves a nice place to stay for some time. Or so they think. But sometimes you just don´t seem to fit quite in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back for more, I see~  
> In this chapter Piers and Chris fight a little, actually. And I think I might have overdone it a bit. But, eh, what can you do, right?  
> On another note I just wanna wish you a Happy Valentine´s Day, seeing that I probably won´t update it anymore before that. And hey... if you´re spending this Valentine´s Day alone (again) like me... there is still Pizza, movies and Nivanfield to keep you distracted.~

___________

 

"Come on, get up...!"

  
"Grr..."

  
"I said, come on!", the younger one pouted and shook his Captain a little with less success. Chris just turned around, facing away from Piers. "Ask me again in an hour..."

  
"But it´s already noon...", Piers mumbled out, throwing a quick glance over to the clock. Usually, he would never sleep that long. His soldier instincts didn´t allow it but they drove until late night yesterday, so...  
"What?", Chris asked surprised and sat up in shock. A little too fast, he realized, as his vision became blurry for a second and his head hurt, causing him to put a hand against his hurting forehead. "Ugh..."

  
"Yeah...", Piers confirmed once more after he made sure Chris was alive and kicking. After they got over the shock of 'wasting' so much time, Piers walked over to the small cabinet they had and came back with some cereal and milk. Chris frowned a little unhappy about it. The last time he remembered eating cereal for breakfast was somewhere in STARS. He just wanted some bacon with eggs...

  
But it was the last thing they had, Piers had said in a worried tone. And they both knew what that meant. They would have to find a city or village and get some groceries. From the money they technically didn´t have.   
So they shared a small breakfast that barely sated their hunger and got in gear, deciding to look around the area a bit.

  
"Okay, so-..." The moment Piers pushed open the door of the trailer to look outside, a lump got stuck in his throat.

  
"What is-..." Chris followed him and his eyes got bigger as well as he took in his surroundings.

  
A perfect crystal clear lake laid before them, surrounded by dark green trees and mountains. Totally peaceful as if no human was around in miles. It probably was the case. The chirping birds were impossible to overhear and the air was amazing. Smells like fir, Chris mused.   
In the darkness of yesterday night he had made out the reflection of water in the distance but in clear sunlight this looked truly awesome.

  
"Wow...", the sniper next to him whispered quietly. Before Chris could say anything, Piers had already started to slowly walk towards the lake. He followed him, even if he was for a moment worried to leave the trailer behind unlocked like this. But no one was to be seen.

  
The waterfront was now less than a few meters away before Piers suddenly stopped. Chris came to a stop next to him, both of them just staring onto the sparkling water. Chris was surprised Piers got even so close to it. If there was one thing the Lanshiang incident did to him, besides the electricity, then it was the hydrophobia.

  
"You know, it´s hard to still appreciate the world after the shit we see every day but this view... makes it almost okay...", Piers mumbled like in trance.

  
"Makes you think you maintain some degree of stability in your life...", the older one responded hesitantly. Stability. What did it still matter to him? The never-ending presence of bioterror in the world? Sometimes he asked himself what he would even do with his life if... that didn´t exist.   
What would he even do now?, he realized shocked.

  
"The water..." Piers started again and fortunately, that pulled Chris away from his thought. "It looks so calm..."  
"..." Chris didn´t really know what to say. At least nothing that wouldn´t involve China. But one of these days they had to talk about it. He had a feeling it was eating away at his protege.

  
"You wanna talk about it?" Here I go...

  
Piers looked at him as if he didn´t recognize him. "No...", he sighed weekly before he turned right back the direction they came and disappeared into the trailer.

  
GG, Redfield! He rolled his eyes at himself. Piers Nivans was like an emotional minefield. You better watch your steps carefully or you´ll get blown to pieces.

  
The mission in China still hung over their relationship like a dangerous, dark cloud. Piers never talked about what happened in the oilfield after he had sent Chris away. But the doctors had found him in a chrysalid, leading to the conclusion that he fully mutated.   
Even with Jake Muller´s blood as an antidote no one could explain how he restored his old self, both mentally and physically with just a few scars on his right side. The kid had a willpower he had never seen in any other human being.  
But one thing he could say for sure. Piers was 100 percent aware when he drowned. It was the only reasonable explanation he was so horribly scared of water.

  
Chris gave a low sigh as he watched the small waves making their way to shore. Why did he even get invested? He practically threw everything away. And now all they still had was their trailer and a few pieces of clothing. If the BSAA would find them, they would most likely both get executed.

  
As bad as it sounds, Chris Redfield wouldn´t mind his own death much. He had played his part in this fucked up game long ago. He had survived the mansion incident, destroyed Umbrella from the inside and killed Albert Wesker, the man behind all this. But terrorism would always carry on. It was the reason he founded the BSAA, to create an organization that would take care of things if he wouldn´t come back after a mission. A legacy. The reason he recruited such young, bright people... like Piers. Chris knew he couldn´t always be here.

  
But there will be casualties, and there will be deaths. They all signed up for this. But grimly, Chris realized, he wouldn´t be able to accept it if it was Piers. The boy he had trained 4 years straight. The boy he had given all his knowledge to. The... man he wanted to take over his place.

  
But recalling him, back in China, ready to throw his young life away just so Chris could make it out... as if his life would matter more than the young sniper's one.

  
He knew why he cared. And the answer got him uncomfortable just as much as it was putting him at ease.   
"Hey, Piers!", he heard himself suddenly yelling as he turned around and nervously staggered towards the trailer.   
"Captain?" Said person already pushed out his face from the entrance in a curious matter. He looked ten times better than just a few minutes ago. Probably because of the lack of liquid.

  
Chris advanced further and awkwardly pushed Piers inside with his sheer build.  
"...You alright?", Piers asked unsure as Chris pushed past him and sat at the table, throwing a serious look towards the other. "You and I... We´ll talk about China now."

  
"C-China, sir?" He could hear the barely present stumble in his voice. A rare thing to make out in Piers´ tone. "What´s there to say?", he pressed out as he uncomfortably shifted from one foot to another.

  
"I dunno... After all we didn´t have much contact ever after you woke up. Let´s be honest here, even after they let me see you, we didn´t talk." Chris grunted as he kept watching Piers. Apparently, he refused to sit down.

  
"..." Piers just continued to stand there, his sharp eyes never leaving Chris´ as it escalated into a rather pissed staring contest.  
"Okay, get it. You don´t wanna start. This mission... I´m aware that my behavior caused a lot of things to go wrong on that day, right? But for my own defense, I still can´t believe HQ dragged me back into the field just one day after I was missing in Edonia for six months... I literally didn´t even know what I was doing there...", Chris admitted as he ran a hand through his face. He led his men into death with his exaggerated aggressiveness.

  
"..." Once again Piers just gave him more silence before he, with a lot hesitation, sat down on the chair opposite of Chris.   
"I noticed... Tried to make HQ understand too but they didn´t listen. I felt so sorry to do this to you... I... tried giving you some help, leading the team and all. But failed to notice that you actually just needed someone to explain shit to you..."  
"Yeah..." Chris nervously licked his lips as he noticed how his hands started shaking. They weren´t even at the oil rig yet.   
"Shoulda listened to ya... would have saved a lot of our men's lives."

  
"That´s not what you wanted to talk about, right? You put up with their deaths..." Piers frowned as he dropped his gaze on the table. "What you can´t understand... is my sacrifice."

  
In contrary to Piers, avoiding his gaze, Chris was searching for it now. Would it be weird to take his hand now? Chris decided that it would be, so he buried his hands under the table. They were shaking anyways, so...

  
"It was... kinda a in-the-moment kind of thing, I guess... you needed to survive, Chris...", the younger one sighed again, his eyes still fixed on the table. For a moment complete silence indulged the room, before: "So what makes my life so much more important than yours?"

  
Piers looked up at him and hazel eyes uncomfortable shifted from him to the open door as if thinking about escaping the whole situation.

  
"You saved this world before. You... just mean too much... I guess." Piers answered unsure. He spoke slow as if still making up the answer as he went on. Unusual for the always so collected sniper.   
"I wish people would stop treating me like a fucking legend. All I do is getting my men killed.", Chris grunted out, running another hand through his hair. "And you... do you know what I went through after we presumed you dead?!" He suddenly got louder without much of a reason, making Piers flinch in surprise.

  
"Do you know how long I looked for you? How many hours I spent just waiting for some news from the lab after they got a hold of you?!", Chris growled dangerously before snorting and turning away for a second. He pulled his lighter and cigarettes from his pockets and lit one, even if he could feel Piers´ judgefull eyes on him. It calmed his shaking a little.

  
"Well... the easy answer is I don´t." Piers shrugged cold, still silently judging his former Captain with his gazes.   
"You and your fucking self-pity...", he spat out and it was the last thing Chris needed to explode.

  
"You little...!" The older one growled deeply as he jumped up, bringing his palms so hard and loud onto the table, Piers was actually afraid it wouldn´t hold. He got up as well.  
"It´s true! You think I can´t see how it eats away at you?! And instead of thinking about yourself for once in your fucking life, you´re more concerned about me?!" Piers stood up tall, throwing that trademark mocking grin he knew just too well. The kid had nerves...

  
"How about we talk about leadership when your balls actually dropped?!" Chris spat the words like poison before turning around and once more leaving the vehicle. Piers had to admit that escalated faster than he thought it would. More so because Chris was looking for this talk. But maybe the situation was just too extreme and foreign for the both of them. The last three months, in general, were just too extreme.

  
It took Chris full two hours before he slowly came into the trailer again, once again a cigarette in mouth. As Piers looked up from the book he had bought in the last city (after he had asked Chris again and again) he honestly hoped that was the only one he had been smoking.

  
"Back already?" Somehow it relieved him that Piers still had his sass.   
"Obviously... Look, I walked around the lake a bit and found a sign. Apparently there is a small town not too far from here."  
"Interesting. Now you wanna go there." Piers closed the book calmly as he spoke in a matter of fact.   
"I thought that would help. I dunno about you but I´m getting kinda hungry and cereal isn´t doing the trick...!" Chris got him the moment he mentioned food. "Agreed!"

  
But as Chris threw his cigarette stump outside and headed for the driver´s seat, Piers was at his side in a flash.  
"I wanna walk..." "...You sure? People... will see you."

  
"I know. I´ll just use my shemagh." He tried to sound cheerful. "I just don´t wanna leave this place yet. I even like the lake...", he smiled carefully. And in return, it painted a smile on Chris´ face too.

  
They packed a few things they thought they might need in a backpack and locked the trailer behind them as they left. Montana was a little fresh around this time of year but Chris seemed little bothered by it as he walked on with just a T-shirt. Piers had a jacket on the other hand.

  
Chris led them to the sign he had found and indeed there was a small village name written on it. 'Woodsforth - 2 miles.'   
"Woodsforth, huh? Sounds nice.", Piers mused aloud. "Sounds like it´s small somehow."

  
"So just what we were looking for...", Chris answered quietly before already marching on. "They probably have a bank..." He kept on muttering and Piers broke into a jog to catch up with him again.   
"Wouldn´t they be able to track us down with that?", the former sniper pointed out and made Chris come to a stop and searching eye contact. "...I forgot how smart you are..."  
"Yeah. Missed that, didn´t you?" Piers´ voice was thick with mockery again. Chris snorted and continued his way down this narrow path through the woods.

  
"I´ll have to admit, sometimes it does have a charming side to it.", the older one said in a completely neutral tone before picking up his pace. "Come on, Piers. 2 miles in under 15 minutes. Like on training grounds!"   
"We´re not on base! Neither are we ever going to be again!" He tried to pretend that he was angry but his act dropped and he let out a small laugh as he reached around Chris´ pace.

  
The scenery was pure beauty, Piers got to say. The autumn leaves gave everything a brown, yellowish glow.   
Their steps fell in sync as the sun shone through the many trees around them.  
No word broke through the silence and he was more comfortable with it when he had thought. The atmosphere was easy and full with meaning but shifted visibly into the opposite the closer they got to the city.   
Chris felt it no matter how hard Piers tried to hide it.

  
Neither the less they pressed on and soon broke through the woods to lie eyes on the little town in the middle of nowhere.

  
“You feel up for it?” But the only response Chris got was Piers pulling his hoodie deeper in his face before doing the same with his shemagh.

  
“Alright…”, Chris sighed defeated.

  
They set food on the first street and were relieved to see almost no people outside. A usual sight for the weekend. Woodsforth was a small countryside town and they walked some time before the buildings and paths piled up. The younger soldier purposefully chose to walk behind Chris, giving the impression of a scared kid seeking guidance from his father. Both of them knew it was better being silent about it. They both weren't the same anymore.

  
However, they did raise some suspicious gazes as they passed something that seemed to be a gas station. A few old farmers sat outside of it, on a couple of old wooden crates like from a scene of a western. Piers thought he heard them talk…

 

  
\------------------

 

  
“I'll just hop in and come straight back out, alright?”

  
“I survived worse than that. I think I can manage, Chris.”

  
He replayed the words before Chris’ departure over and over in his head. How long had he been gone by now? And when in the world had he started to pay such close attention to it? Thinking too much became a bad habit to him, he thought snorting as he kept his gaze fixed on the small entrance of the building in front of him. How long does it take to lift off some money of your bank account?! A young girl stopped in front of him, obviously without parents or such in sight. Piers remained standing there motionless, pulling his shemagh deeper over his face.

  
“Are you alright?” Her voice was so soft and almost inaudible. But Piers picked it up neither the less. There was an accent in it somewhere. She couldn't be from here, after all… they hadn’t been driving for that long, right?

  
“...”   
Piers always considered himself a person who could deal well with children. After all he himself was one out of four, being the youngest but still. But goddammit, he was already at the verge of a panic attack. She took a step closer and Piers saw the disaster coming from a mile.

  
The moment she caught a glimpse of his horribly scarred face and the milky right eye, she yelled. Loud.   
Now a young woman came rushing, probably the mother. As if things couldn't get worse from here on out. She pulled the blonde girl away from him as if… as if…

  
“What is going on here?!” She roared in his face like a lioness defending her cubs. It was the same repeating game. The words got stuck in her throat.

  
But there was just so much an emotionally unstable person can take. Even more so than the woman invaded his personal space and pulled his hoodie off his head. Revealing everything he was so ashamed of. Chris once said, he shouldn't be. Ashamed, you know…

  
Hazel met the cold, gray eyes of this woman in front of him and he could see the disgust in them.   
“Burn marks…?” They look like it, right? They are not…

  
“Piers?!” Chris… His head slowly turned to his former superior in search for help. The older one was at his side in a heartbeat, grabbing his hoodie and yanking it hastily back over his head, oblivious to the fact how Piers was shaking and visibly couldn't break himself away to do it on his own.

  
Somehow Piers imagined Chris making a scene and actually giving this lady a piece of his mind but all he did was throwing a poisonous look towards her and dragging Piers with him. Understandable considering that this would probably raise even more attention. Chris didn't stop, not until they crossed at least five streets and even more corners. Then they did, it was in an empty alleyway and Chris was pissed as hell. Why? Shouldn't Piers be the one in the bad mood?

  
“What the fuck were you thinking?!” The question was filled with aggression and fury, it was as if Chris was talking to someone else. He never heard him like this… At least not aimed towards him.

  
“It wasn't like I just ran around, yelling 'Look at my scars, everyone!'...”, he started unsure. The events that just unfolded left him feeling so vulnerable and alone like he didn't since his quarantine anymore.   
Chris was speechless for a second. Then: “You know what your scars do to people…” Maybe he meant well but like way too often in the last time, it set Piers off like explosives.

  
“I fucking do, Chris! You weren't the one who was almost slapped across the face because they got a little girl crying!” The younger one threw back in his face. He felt the virus taking control again, making his insides bubbling with rage without a reason.

  
His hard and erratic breathing was forcefully interrupted then 216 pounds of muscle shoved him aggressively against the wall behind him.

  
“Get over your fucking self, Piers. Are you actually too blind to see that you're not the only hurt person on this goddamn planet."  
A moment they continued staring each other down. Piers didn´t exactly know what happened but in the next second he was wrapped in a hug by the older one.

  
"Gosh, Piers...!" The rage caused by the virus inside vanished like it sensed the presence of the man which spent his entire life destroying it´s kind. It was safe to say that this was one of these rare awkward moment Piers encountered in his young life.   
This was his former superior and Captain and he knew Chris had sometimes these incredible unstable moments but this was ridiculous.

  
"Stop getting me worried all the damn time!" Chris still yelled, way too close to Piers´ ear. Which had no idea if he meant the situation just now in general or China. Probably both.

  
"I... just stood there...!" Piers protested but neither the less carefully wrapped his arms around Chris.   
But not for long because Chris seemed to collect himself rather fast, already pushing away from Piers again.

  
"Anyway... I took the last money off my account. I´m actually surprised they didn´t block it yet. But well, they might find out where we are now." Chris began talking again, even if Piers had to admit, it was slightly shaky. "We´ll just have to see from here on out..."

  
Yeah, they will have to see...

  
Not really knowing what to say to this, Piers just nodded and so, without much more talking, both of them returned to the way they had come before.

  
Past the old gas station...

  
"Heya, you there!" The two old men still sat there on the front porch on wooden crates. The moment they called out to them, Chris and Piers visibly stiffened as they stopped. Slowly Chris locked gazes with them while Piers just stared dead ahead.   
"I don´t know who the fuck you are but you look like trouble. Get the shit out of our town..." It was so clicheé... his appearance, his voice. Just that they weren´t in the south.

  
Chris looked over to Piers behind him for a moment and could see how he nervously pulled his hoodie deeper. Well...  
"We´re sorry if our presence bothers you, gentlemen. We´re just coming through." He tried to reply as polite as possible. How possible it was when you were faced with such assholes.

  
"I sure fucking hope so..." The man sank back in his makeshift seat, signalizing that the discussion was over for him.   
New arrivals always had it bad in such a small city. When Chris grew up, his family lived in a village too, even if far more bigger than this one, before moving to Raccoon City. He still knew what it meant to live in a place everyone knew the other. So did Piers...

  
"Chris... let´s just go...", the younger urged him and pulled lightly on his T-shirt. Chris had been standing there for too long, just sending hateful glances in the direction of the gas station. To the point that one of the men already stood up and now eyed them threateningly.

  
In the end Chris could rip himself away from starting a fight and they bought some groceries in the only shop this town had. Not much, just a few. Once again every pair of eyes were on them.


	3. Water, Wind and Stones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nivanfield winds down with a few calm hours alone at the lake. Just platonic, of course, if you would ask them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever you write a fanfic, at one point you´ll have to dive into research. Just like in this chapter where I had to learn how to set up a grill with barely anything and how you skip rocks with cheap, short youtube videos.  
> Therefore I can almost guarantee that something in here is not right, sorry for that.  
> But hey... that´s not the only awkward, unprofessional scene here in Vagabond. More of that to come...~

________________

 

"I can´t tell you how fucking happy I am to be out of there..." The hazel eyed sniper sighed and kept marching on, on the now slightly muddy path.

  
I had started to rain as they entered the grocery store but fortunately, it was one of these intense but fast disappearing rain storms, so when they exited it was barely drizzling.

  
Now everything glistened in the light, the leaves and the grass. It smelled like wet forest and Piers loved that smell as it brought old memories back of playing between bushes and trees in the middle of nowhere.  
The mud caused their boots to get stuck here and there, making slurpy noises as they were pulled free. So he could hear the larger man behind him all too well without him speaking.

  
"Hmm, agreed." With the shopping bags almost covering his face, Piers had trouble understanding Chris anyways. His bad if he insisted on carrying all the bags.

  
"When we get home I´ll try to get this little grill running that we found in the back of the trailer.~", Piers thought out loud and it actually surprised him how fast he titled the trailer as 'home'. Surprised or scared, he would have to think about this one.  
"Do that..." By now Chris sounded like he´d throw out his back any moment. How someone who wrestled SUV-sized BOWs for a living, could almost get defeated by groceries was beyond Piers. He decided to take two of the heaviest himself.

  
Then again... carrying them all the way...

  
Even before Chris could say anything a "Don't mention it!" left Piers´ mouth and the last part of the way was walked in silence.  
This really felt domestic, Piers thought as he watched Chris sorting the groceries in the fridge and cabinets. And Piers really, really didn´t mean to blush right now...

  
But it still happened and Chris saw it from the corner of his eye.  
"You know..." He started as he had packed it all away, just a steak in plastic film still on the counter. "I really hope this steak will be more like the one´s back home~."

  
"..."

  
It was obviously meant to pick up the mood but this was too bad, even for Chris. Said one seemed to notice it too and immediately apologized for this really bad joke. Piers would find a way to forgive him. Like just looking at his face. Or hear his voice. Goddamn, this was getting out of control.

  
"Whatever." The sniper was trying so hard to cover his goofy grin by a pout as he grabbed the piece of meat and walked outside but he was certain the other one had seen it, as he was just wearing the same expression. The small black charcoal grill they had found in the back of the trailer already stood there, all battered and tilted but it stood. Chris took the sack of charcoals they had bought too and poured some into the device.

  
Setting it up to burn with just a lighter, a piece of cloth and some oil was a bitch but eventually this method, that Piers had picked up in an internet video once, worked. By now the sun had come a big deal closer to the horizon but they still threw the two steaks on the small grill and waited patiently.

  
"I never did that...", Piers suddenly said and it startled Chris as he had just watched the setting sun over the lake. "What?", he whispered into the darkening day.

  
"You know how most kids have some camping adventures with their dads? Never happened." Chris frowned lightly. Knowing that Piers came from the countryside, you´d think he would have some experience with living outside. Maybe he even did, judging how he knew his way with nature. Just never seemed to have made these memories with his father.  
Even before this, Chris had some information about Piers´ family. One was that he never spoke bad about his father, yes, but never really good either. Well, things seemed a little clearer now...

  
Just as Chris wanted to speak up, the younger one continued:  
"I´d always stray around the farm alone. My siblings liked to stay inside, though. Guess the sniper blood always did run inside of me..." Piers had siblings? Painfully, Chris realized that he had known so little about his partner until now. Guess this is how Piers felt about him too. Good thing they had more time to talk now.

  
A sizzling filled the air as Piers turned around the two steaks, keeping his gaze fixed on the slight reddish glowing coals inside.

  
"When I was really young we lived in a small town, not as small as 'friendly' Woodsforth though...", Chris made sure to speak 'friendly' with as much sarcasm as he could. "Dad would go on trips with me and Claire as often as he could. Camping, museums, zoo, and everything in between...", Chris whispered in thoughts as he remembered something that was a lifetime ago. The term actually fitted.

  
"And when we came home, Mom would smile happily and make us some sandwiches." A small chuckle escaped Chris´ lips and he felt Piers´ eyes come to rest on him.

  
"Wow... sounds like your father was at least home once in a while..." Now Chris got it. Piers´ father was in the army, of course. Piers once said he was the fourth generation serving his country in the Nivans family. His father was just never home in the first place.

  
"I´m sorry to hear that..." He never felt like these words had the impact he wanted them to have. They were easily said and often just as easily shrugged off. Just like Piers did it now.

  
"Yeah, well, whatever..." For a moment it was silent again before Piers sighed. "But enough about me. If you actually start talking for once, just keep at it." The sniper hummed as he turned the meat once again, almost looking happy again.  
He really had never talked with him about much, huh?

  
"I´m... not sure how much Claire told you?" "Just about the Air Force and Raccoon City but not all of it either."  
"There is nothing interesting about my life, Piers." The other snorted.  
"You´re a legend, you should have something to say..." This legend bullcrap again. Chris was sick of hearing it. All he ever did was standing up for people who couldn´t do it themselves. Something everyone gets taught by their parents at one point, no? Oh, and getting his men killed. That´s something he did a lot too...

  
"Well, fine. You see, after my father got a new job in Raccoon City, we moved there. The next few years were calm and I joined the Air Force with 17. But 3 years later, our parents died in a car accident with a big rig out of control. I had no idea what to do with Claire or how I should afford anything. Claire was brought into a boarding school of some kind, while I worked hard in the service to send her some money. But thinking a lot about her I made mistakes, was emotionally unstable. One of these days I got in a big argument with authorities and rejected direct orders. Of course, they threw me out. So the next few years I struggled with small jobs, none of it anything I really wanted to do. Claire had by now moved to another establishment away from Raccoon, where she could be better educated. Luckily Barry, who I got to know in the Air Force, got me into STARS in the end..."

  
"And the rest is history, huh?", the younger one hummed as he took the meat off the grill and placed it on a couple of plates.  
"You got it, kid!"

  
Chris had forgotten how ice-cold Piers´ gazes could be as it hit him again with full force after so long. "Kid?" His tone was poisonous and Chris remembered having this talk with him more than once already.

  
"Look, I didn´t mean... compared to me you´re a kid...", he tried but the other held up a hand.  
"Compared to you I´m a little younger, yes-..." Chris cut him short with a "Thirteen years." but Piers just cleared his throat. "But that doesn´t mean-..." Once again Chris fell in his words.  
"Just take it as a compliment?!" Both looked at each other for a second before Chris turned away and retrieved two camping chairs from the trailer and, without a word, placed them close to the lake.

  
"You okay with this much distance?" "To the water? No.", the hazel eyed sniper said out flat as he balanced the two plates in his hands and still walked over.

  
Seeing that Piers obviously was able to stand so close, Chris just snorted and let himself fall in one of the chairs. Not the most comfortable thing, that was for sure, but he worked with worse.

  
"Here you go." He looked up to a plate already getting shoved in his face. Even though Piers´ face was graced with a smile. Hesitantly, Chris took it from his partner who fell in the seat beside him right after.  
"I tried to season it some. As good as I could with barely anything here."

  
Chris just shrugged and thanked him. It didn´t matter, any steak would be good right now, poorly seasoned or not.  
"Maybe we should have bought something to go along with it too, but I totally forgot. Well, regrets have been made..." Piers kept talking and Chris just listened while eating.

  
Piers´ voice was beautiful. It always had been. It had a melodic touch. Something youthful that usually got lost fast if you worked under circumstances like they had. But like he had said before, the boy had unbelieving willpower. Even if he did have these horrible mood swings since the virus (and being in general just a little bitch sometimes), nothing really changed in the end for the young sniper.

  
Yeah, sure a few scars, but for Chris they were just a reminder of what he was willing to sacrifice for him. And that was more than flattering. Even if Chris would have liked it more if that would have never been necessary.  
"...So what do you think?" Huh, what?! Hastily, he looked over to his partner and was met with a waiting gaze. Shit, he didn´t listen!

  
"H-huh?" He felt so stupid like a kid that had just been caught stealing cookies. Piers´ depressed sigh made everything worse.  
"I just told you about my cooking skills and asked if you liked the steak?" Defeated, he repeated it again as his hazel eyes stubbornly turned to the colors on the lake that the setting sun created.

  
"The steak. Sure. It´s good.", he answered as fast as he could. So Piers cooked, huh? Why the hell didn´t he listen?  
Setting his plate carelessly in the grass next to him, Piers just nodded and kept observing the little waves as if they were potential threats. Not long after Chris did the same... without the paranoidal staring towards the water.

  
Silence settled between them and it was that kind of comfortable silence that didn´t suffocate and forced you to say something. Neither the less Chris spoke up with a chuckle.

  
"Hey... you ever skipped a rock?" Seeing that he said his father never did anything with him, probably not but that was about to change. "Not that I could remember..."

  
In an instant Chris already stood before him, a little proudly putting his hands on his hip.  
Without the sniper being able to say anything, Chris took a hold of his hand and pulled Piers up.

  
Goddamn, the boy was light. Lighter than he remembered. Not by much but still. Considering he spend the majority of the last three months in quarantine that was understandable. Somehow that build a rage inside him, stronger than the one that was already there for wanting to execute the sniper.

  
“I did this all the time back in the day. You're about to learn from the best.”  
The other seemed so dumbstruck he couldn't muster a sound as they stepped close to the water. But just as close as Piers was comfortable with.

  
Picking up a random rock from the ground, the latter whispered, “Okay so… how do we go about this?”  
“First of all, that's a terrible choice.” Immediately, the stone fell back to the floor.

  
“You wanna pick a flat, round one.” Now copying Piers´ gesture, Chris bent down and after barely a few seconds of observing the ground, he got up again with a perfectly shaped one. Piers was impressed.  
He was about to feel a lot more of that when his Captain turned towards the lake and tossed hard. “...Eleven…” Piers trained sniper eyes counted.

  
“Told you so. Played baseball then I was younger, basically the same principle.”

  
Just like his short temper was well known, it wasn´t new that Piers loved complete control over every situation. The beginning in Alpha as a rookie was living hell for the ace. So naturally, he tried to fall into things as soon as possible, taking that said control. And he did. In fact, he earned his title as the top sniper rather fast and even the higher up´s were impressed. He knew what he was doing.

  
Usually. Not now but... usually.

  
So now he stood here like a complete idiot while his former Captain kept babbling on about baseball... To be honest, he could totally see Chris playing baseball. There was something about him, saying he did a lot of carefree things back when life wasn´t complete shit.

  
Comparing it to his childhood left a bitter taste in Piers´ mouth. Shouldn´t he be the one with youthful enthusiasm? But it probably was a question about how they were raised.

  
You know, he would have loved to play baseball with his father...

  
Ripping his protege away from his thoughts, Chris suddenly fell to the ground and Piers jumped up in the worst expectations. After all, Chris was old, right...?

  
"What-what are you doing?"

  
"You should get down here too, looking for rocks." In any other connection that would have sounded totally retarded. It still did.

  
Slowly, feeling even more like some brainless idiot, he lowered himself on the ground. Chris in front of him searched frantically with his eyes and after telling Piers to reach out his palms, dumped one after another small, gray stones into his hands.

  
A few minutes went by and Piers didn´t feel any better about the situation as Chris finally pushed himself upright again but not without complaining about his knees and 'how he got too old for this shit'.  
It wasn´t like him to keep so quiet but like any sniper, he preferred to just stay in the shadows and keep any eye on what was happening for now.

  
"Picked up some small one´s too, for your super tiny hands." Screw that thought.

  
"Look, just because you have huge fucking-..." Chris took a rock from his hands and tossed it like before. Fifteen. Damn.  
"Go ahead." Fine. Pushing the remaining stones in Chris´ arms, Piers grabbed one. Round and flat like he said.

  
Honestly, he had never done that. And he wasn´t as stupid to just think this would be easy. He held it like a frisbee and judging Chris´ approving hum that wasn´t such a bad thing.

  
He had even heard something about the angle once. Not really being able to recall the exact number, he knew that it was pretty sharp though.

  
"..." Okay, if he was going to embarrass himself, at least get it over with. He threw and the little stone hit the surface, jumped once and twice and...  
"Five." There wasn´t as much sass in Chris´ voice as he would have expected. No, not at all. "Actually not bad if you say you never did this before."

  
He felt like a rookie again with Chris complimenting him. This wasn´t even important shit or anything. But it felt nice neither the less.

  
"But there was a lot wrong with your stance and pose... Here, let me show you." Taking a stone and letting all the others fall to the floor, he took a stand next to his partner.  
"Face the water sidewards with your feet shoulder-width apart. What´s your dominant side again?" The Captain knew Piers was originally a leftie but even before the incident, he used both sides equally good, obviously because his father or whoever trained with for that.

  
"I´m comfortable with right, thank you." At least like that he wouldn´t have to think mirrored.

  
"Right. So your left faces the water then. You should squat a little down, so the rock is as parallel to the water as possible. Place your index finger against the edge of the rock. Hold the flat sides of the rock with your thumb on one side and your middle finger on the other. To maintain control over it."

  
Chris took position like he just explained and Piers found himself eyeing him all over. It happened more often these days.  
"Don´t throw it like a frisbee like you did. I mean some do it like that, but I don´t."

  
"Bend your wrist all the way back and then snap it forward to flick the rock against the surface of the water. The important thing is that you carefully bend your wrist all the way backward to generate some power and that you then flick it forward quickly and at the right angle."

  
Chris already wanted to throw but seemed to remember something important. "Oh, and follow through. Don´t just throw it and stop moving your arm. It will stop short. Whip your arm all the way across your chest. Like throwing a baseball.", he grinned and did just that.

  
Seemed like Chris always gets at least more than ten.  
Piers sighed and took once more the next victim of their pile that now rested on the ground.

  
"I swear Chris, if this doesn´t work..." "Then we´ll try together."

  
What? The slightest tingle of blush laid itself on Piers´ face and Chris didn´t even recognize it. Well... this almost felt like one of these father-son experiences until now, except that Piers didn´t mean for it to be that. And in that moment he realized that it probably wasn´t either.

  
Trying to pay attention to the things Chris mentioned as good as he could, he hit eight this time but in the end, it slid a bit over the surface, so maybe it was more.  
The sniper took a deep breath to say something but already felt the presence behind him long before he even grabbed his arm.

  
"Get your legs into it..." And no doubt about it, Chris indeed shoved a stone in his hand before wrapping his own around his. His fingers pushed Piers´ into place. It was weird touching like this, so Piers kept as limp as his shaking fingers would allow so Chris could shove them fast into place.

  
Chris´ palm now covered all of Piers´ hand and Piers could feel the scars. The scars on his right hand that were ever so prominent.

  
A lot of the rookies would ask themselves where they came from and Piers once did too. It wasn´t really Chris who told him in the end. It was a mixture between Claire and Miss Valentine that would tell him about the Africa mission where Wesker had found his end. For the time being Chris had worked with a young woman named Sheva. Apparently, both of them crashed Wesker´s jet in a volcano and well... the Captain had punched a boulder out of his way. A boulder.

  
But it left some traces. The hard surface took a toll on his hand that got immediate medical attention after he got out. But on his bad days, he once dropped at the edge of a conversation, he had trouble uncurling his fingers fully or just spreading them. The doctors said that they weren´t sure he could ever hold a gun with that hand again. But he proved them wrong. Like so many times before.

  
Staring at the scarred hand covering his own, lost in thoughts, he squealed surprised as he felt Chris´ feet left and right from his own, pressing together, outright encircling him now.  
Redfield´s left arm did the same, laying itself shamelessly across Piers´ chest.

  
O-kay...

  
Piers took a deep breath. But it got stuck in his throat as he felt Chris rubbing over his chest.  
Are you fucking kidding-?! This couldn't...

  
"Bend in your knees, around half a foot." It wasn´t more than a whisper. It didn´t need to be anyway with how close Chris was to his ear.  
Hesitantly, he did just that. And god, this was the worst moment of them all as he felt Chris doing the same and, he couldn´t believe, actually pressing his hip into him a little.

  
This wasn´t an accident anymore, alright?!

  
"And now we... throw that son of a bitch."

  
With hitched breath, he followed Chris´ movement and released just when he felt Chris´ fingers letting go.  
Not that they stayed away for long. You´d think Chris would now back off but much the contrary. He once again stepped closer and let his hand wrap around his Lieutenant's.

  
Not moving an inch, they watched the little stone surf into the almost completely disappeared sun on the lake with thirteen little jumps.

  
"Awesome...", Piers whispered as if he was afraid to break the moment if he would speak up.  
"Yeah..." Chris´ chin came to rest on his head and Piers squinted his eyes shut. Could someone pinch him? This was everything he ever wanted...


	4. Like A Light In The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night is coming around with how fast time is flying by. And that also means that Piers and Chris get a few visitors. Tiny, glowing visitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can tell you that this chapter is awfully short. Yeah, it is. But like I said, I wrote this whole thing in advance and the arrangement is kinda messy now... the next chapter is gonna be longer again, though.

 

\-----------------

 

Okay, so he had a crush on Chris. It wasn´t like he didn´t know before. Cause he did. Just knowing and actually admitting it to yourself were two completely different things.

  
Some time, after standing there like two idiots, they broke away. Chris, with mumbling something like 'Sorry for getting into your personal space like this.', while awkwardly rubbing his neck and Piers just shrugging it off.

  
And now they both laid there in the grass with hands behind their heads while watching the appearing stars on the black firmament.

  
The silence wasn´t a bad thing. Piers was so glad that Chris was actually a person who appreciated a good silence like him. He was like this before but thinking about it... maybe the quarantine made it even worse...

  
His mind wandered to Merah. The young woman they teamed up with in Asia when the Marhawa incident happened. She had been young, quirky, loud. But what stuck even more, was how good she was at fighting the good fight. She loved food and she even talked Piers into watching some episodes of her anime. Something Piers never wasted a thought on before.

  
In general, he could connect to her really well, forming a strong friendship between the two. He even might have dropped a hint or two about his thoughts on the Captain. Because he trusted her enough. That was before he had seen her death and before he lost everything himself.

  
With how he was now, he wasn´t sure he would have still worked with a persona like her...

  
Merah Biji, a brave young soul that fell like so many of his comrades before and after her. If she wouldn´t have pushed him away.... If he wouldn´t have pushed Chris away...

  
"Hey, Piers..." The whisper was barely audible even with no other distracting sounds around them.

  
"Hmm?", Piers lazily hummed back just as silent.

  
"The lake." Looking over to his Captain, at first almost not being able to make him out in the darkness, he noticed that the older one had sat up.

  
Carefully propping himself up on his elbows, he tried to see the lake. Which was rather easy with what was going on over the waterline.

  
A bunch of little yellowish, green lights flew through the air. Some of them calmly and some of them in weird tosses and turns. It didn´t take Piers a second to identify them as Fireflies.  
Fireflies in Montana? Rare but apparently a thing...

  
When you travel around the world there are a lot of things you hear, Piers had learned. In a lot of cultures, fireflies are seen as the lost soul of a person that had a terrible death. He didn´t mean to think of the teammates they lost in Edonia and China. He really didn´t.

  
Piers sneaked a peak over to Chris. Said one still observed the little bugs with interest.

  
And maybe it would be better to tell the pessimistic part of him, in other words the virus, to finally shut up with all that depressing bullshit!

  
Instead, he should focus on the beauty of these little creatures, like Chris apparently did, and that he was still alive to witness it. With Chris together.

  
Now actually breaking out in an honest smile, Piers sat up straight in the grass like the Captain.  
"You know, these are beautiful." It felt like the dark night air swallowed his words whole but Chris seemed to have heard them. "They really are..."

  
The little insects kept flying together in a glowing mess over the water. The water and even little grasshoppers took care of the atmospheric background sounds in the complete blackness. And Piers wouldn´t change a fucking thing. Not even for his old life. Apparently, the very same thoughts crossed Chris´ mind.

  
"I wouldn't have a problem with this being our life now...", came the deep voice not far from his right.  
And sitting here under the stars in the middle of nowhere, Piers couldn´t think of anything then replying with a "Yeah..."

  
Everything seemed so light. Until the moment the sniper decided to shift a little, using his hands for support on the cold grass and actually coming to rest it on Chris´ next to him.

  
"..."

  
It was as even the grasshoppers went totally silent. For a moment Piers stared dead ahead and didn´t move a muscle, betraying his rioting inner state of mind. He had no idea what Chris next to him was doing, ´cause he didn´t muster the courage to look over to him.

  
The longest seconds in his young life went by before he felt Chris pressing his fingers up through the gaps of Piers´ and intertwining them.

  
Slowly relaxing and lowering his wide, shocked lids, he dared to sneak a gaze over to his former superior. Chris´ position or expression didn´t change much. He was still watching the glow show in front of them, just his smile appeared a little wider as before...

  
Realizing everything was okay, he totally let go of all the tension in his muscles and even as Chris slowly turned his head and now made eye contact with him, Piers stayed as cool as he could.

  
They shared a long look and Piers hesitated but smiled back in the end. If he had only known how much willpower it costed Chris right now not to...

  
Eventually, both of them even inched closer to each other and continued to watch the fireflies. They didn´t bother about the handholding. Piers even felt Chris tighten the grip around his fingers here and there.

  
Okay, so he had a crush on Piers. It wasn´t like he didn´t know before. Cause he did. Just knowing and actually admitting it to yourself were two completely different things...

 

  
\------------------------

 

 

When Piers opened his eyes the next morning, he already knew what was up as he felt the gentle bumping below him and the engine sounds that made this old trailer sounds as if it belonged on a dumping ground already.

  
He and Chris had talked some more about the future yesterday night and both agreed that it would be better to keep on marching on with the suspiciousness of the Woodsforther people. Even if Piers didn´t like water, he would miss this beautiful lake a lot...

  
But hey, their destination was Nebraska anyway.

  
Groaning, he fought his way up and collected some clothes from the ground before locking himself in the bathroom. Guess there would be a lot of driving today again.

  
A quarter hour later he was ready to shoot and carefully made his way over to the passenger´s seat, dropping in it.  
"Hey, morning. Didn´t wake ya, did I?" Chris´ eyes never left the road but the smile on his face was enough for Piers.  
"You didn´t." His eyes wandered over to the landscape like so many times before. After all, this was his only chance of orientation. But nothing really changed about it. Still a lot of field, meadows and the occasional trees. They were on the highway once more. He really wondered if Chris even had any trace of clue where they were going.

  
"You had breakfast already?" Chris asked and it made Piers release his train of thought.

  
"Nah, what about you?" At first, Chris looked at him a little disapproving but had to admit that he didn´t do it either. "Maybe later, you know..."

  
"So what´s the plan for now?" Piers really had no idea himself.  
"We keep driving until it gets dark and then we look for a place to stay the night. Like always." Good plan. Didn´t change any fucking thing about their situation but good fucking plan.

  
They ran out of things to discuss rather fast this morning so they kept their gaze forward and just went with wherever they would end up.

  
The hours went by and they covered a lot of ground in silence. Once or twice they pulled over to actually eat something together.  
What would happen to them now? Yesterday was so carefree and settled Piers´ thoughts. He had almost gotten rid of these concerns. But now, with leaving their place behind once more, he felt uncomfortable as hell...


	5. One In A Million

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Chris and Piers stop in another village, with a unique name, after putting a lot of distance between themselves and Woodsforth. And also their first encounter with a person is more than just a little weird. Seems like this place is gonna be a lot of fun...

  
_Third State: Wyoming_

 

  
A week can pass by rather quickly. Or it can stretch forever, like in their case. The past six days they didn´t stop for anything. Just driving. Keep driving!

  
One day Chris even pulled over after the first few hours and admitted that his vision became blurry and he couldn´t continue driving. Piers had taken over the wheel after some discussion with Chris because he hadn´t been driving in months, especially after the incident. But you don´t forget such things.

  
So after passing the border to Wyoming, they actually felt safe enough again for a little stay somewhere.   
The more southern they got the more the scenery changed. The fields became larger. Not as many lakes around. Not as many trees either. But a lot of farms with animals and in general just a bit more countryside. Piers reminded it of home. If he would still call it home...

  
But neither the less there was civilization. It came in the form of, once again, a small village. It was around the size of Woodsforth, maybe a little bigger. Chris was the one who was skeptical about the size and said they could find something bigger, still having the incident in the other small town in mind. Neither the less, Piers talked him into at least staying the night which was rapidly approaching.

  
They parked the trailer in a forest not too far from it. Far away to not be spotted but close enough to have a short walk. They both agreed to visit it on the following day to stock up their low running support of groceries.

 

  
\----------

 

  
"...Bearcreek...?" Fucking really?   
Chris stood in front of the sign while he was hardly ignoring the giggling Piers behind him. He knew the nicknames all around the base for him. And Piers obviously too, seeing the way he tried to suppress a chuckle when his Captain turned around to him again.

  
“What?!” “N-Nothing!”, the younger one assured him fast as he sensed the annoyance of his opposite.  
Chris didn't give much more than a growl anymore before they turned towards the street that led into the town and cautiously followed it. A few little barns and sheds pressed into their view. They crossed what appeared to be the main street. Which was really pathetic seeing that it was just a gravel path, barely enough to fit two cars next to each other. Behind it stood a wooden building with an old brick roof, on it hanging a sign, simply saying 'Diner'. For a moment Chris and Piers remembered that they skipped breakfast.

  
Deciding to take a look, both of them nodded and entered the charming establishment. As soon as the door closed behind them and the little bells above them marked their arrival, they were greeted with the warm smile of a young woman, standing behind the counter on the other side of the room.

  
“Warm welcome here in Bearcreek Diner.~ My name is Alyssa! How can I be of service?” If her smile could get any wider, it did.   
A little hesitant, Chris and Piers approached and took a moment to take her looks in. She was young, probably in her early twenties.

  
Brown-orange hair tied in a french braid, Piers recognized. He didn't have a sister for nothing, after all. She had freckles, making her look even more like a teenager. Alyssa, like she introduced herself, was dressed in a yellow uniform with red stripes and an apron in the same color. It actually didn´t look that bad…

  
But on her head... was the most cringiest version of a bear hat they ever saw. A fucking bear hat!

  
"Erm, well...", Chris started uncertainly after Alyssa, and Piers, had urged him with their looks to carry on. "...we´re kinda new here and..."  
"New to Bearcreek?! That´s awesome!" "Y-yeah...", Chris stuttered, confused from her sudden outburst. "It´s a really calm place, but..."

  
Once again, Chris´ attempt at ordering something was denied as the young girl kept talking. Seeing that no one else was in the diner, she sure had the time to talk apparently...

  
"Isn´t it?! Bearcreek is a really nice town.", she grinned which got Piers frowning. Usually, younger people didn´t like living in the countryside and would immediately move away, given the chance. Well, except himself... and Alyssa apparently.   
"Are you planning to stay?", she suddenly seemed even hopeful and after looking at Chris for a moment, her gaze settled on Piers and in that moment Chris realized something. The kid didn´t put much effort in hiding her staring at the sniper anyway... Chris growled involuntarily.

  
"We did not decide yet...", the veteran pressed out from behind gritted teeth as he made sure to put emphasis on every word. He didn´t like the look she gave his protege one bit. If anything, it made him want to leave this place behind any faster.   
"Oh, that´s a shame. It may be little but we have everything we need right here...." She went to keep on going when Chris cut her short.

  
"Look, can we just order?" He knew he was being too rude. He knew it without two pairs of eyes silently judging him after. She was just a kid after all. And this wasn´t him at all but... everything he wanted from that girl was to stop looking at Piers like she would jump him every moment, god damn!

  
"...Sure, sir...", she gulped uncomfortably as she drew a pen and a small notepad from her breast pocket and waited, never once daring to look up at them again.   
Chris gave a guilty sigh. "You´ve got something light for breakfast?"

  
"...We have a big variety of toast. Toast with eggs, toast with beans, toast with bacon. All of this with buns too, if you prefer that. Pancakes, fruit salads. We got waffles. Or something more light, like cereal...." Oh please, no cereal.

  
"I´ll just get a toast with eggs and bacon...", he mumbled and already turned around to choose a table. He heard Piers still say something like "Pancakes for me and get me a tea. For him... a cup of coffee, he drinks it black. Thanks a bunch."

  
He heard the sweetness in his voice and he knew that it was because Piers felt guilty too for the girl. But it still bothered Chris.   
The place wasn´t that huge like they already expected from the outside looks. Inside it was mostly wooden too. A few yellow painted walls made a comfortable contrast. It was decorated with a lot of plants which Chris really liked. He always remembered his mother having a lot of plants at home. Later he tried it himself but his lack of presence at home made them go dry rather fast.

  
They chose a table in the far rear. The moment Chris sat down and looked up, he was met with a serious look. Having no other people around, the silence settled in pretty fast. But Piers broke it, neither the less.   
"You don´t like her much?" Piers was good in reading people, better than Chris was anyway. And somehow it was even easier for the sniper when it was Chris he was reading.

  
For a moment Chris thought about a response. Piers gave him the time to find the words.  
"It´s not the kid. It´s... the town.", he lied. Well, partly. Of course it was the kid. But Chris was still uncomfortable here, especially at the question if they would stay. To be honest, Chris thought their goal was Nebraska. But even if they got there, would they stop moving? Chris found himself scared of the thought of starting a new life somewhere, settling down. Because even if they agreed on trying that eventually, Chris wasn´t that naive. The moment they would stay somewhere, it would get easier for the BSAA to track them down.

  
Just staying one day, back in Woodsforth, made him nervous as fuck.   
"I like it here." And that was the moment he got even more scared. Bearcreek was really nice he had to admit that, at least what he saw of it yet, but...

  
"It isn´t bad. But small town living usually gets behind secrets way too fast."  
"So you´re suggesting we could stay here?" Piers laid his head to the side.  
"What?! No!" Of course, Piers would understand that wrong of all things!

  
"So you ARE staying! Yay.~" Chris didn´t know what was worse: fighting a bunch of BOWs or seeing everything go down in front of him right now.

  
Slowly he turned to see Alyssa behind him with a tray of food balanced on one hand. The girl was smiling way too wide...  
"No, no, no, wait!" It was a desperate attempt to fix everything. And it would fail, Chris knew. Alone with the girl refusing to listen to him all the god damn time!

  
She sat the tray in front of them and it smelled so deliciously but the Captain couldn´t think of the food now. Focus for christ´s sake!  
"You don´t-!" "I gotta tell mom...", she whispered more to herself as she pulled her phone from her pocket and started typing like crazy.

  
"Alyssa!" Chris used her name, hoping it would get through to her. For a moment she looked up and visibly waited for him to say something. Just a shame that in that moment, she also visibly clicked on send.   
God help...

  
Piers now shifted in his seat, seeing the devastation in Chris´ eyes. The sniper himself would like it here. Of course, he was aware of the risks of stop moving. But he was never the person that would travel around a lot if it wasn´t for the job sometimes. He was a person who liked to have control, he realized once more on this trip. And driving around aimlessly wasn´t really fitting into this. If they were to start a new life somewhere, why not in Bearcreek?

  
"Alyssa...", he started a little quiet before clearing his throat.  
"It´s not decided yet, we... just don´t know..."

  
He saw the million questions that formed in her brain. One of them probably why they were coming here if they didn´t know yet. And if they didn´t have a home to begin with...  
But luckily she started with an easier one.

  
"How about you at least give me your names? I told you mine." Wanting to speak up, Piers´ voice was instantly replaced with Chris´ when he told her first.

  
"Richard Aiken." Alyssa just smiled and turned to Piers. But said one was caught in surprise as he slowly realized Chris had just used a false name. Then it dawned on him. That´s what they had been talking about! Frantically his brain tried to make up a name.

  
He thought about using Finn´s or any other of the former Alpha Team but was scared someone would make a connection with the BSAA. Chris eyed him now too, urging him to come up with something. But luckily Piers was a quick thinker.   
"Ricky." He uttered too quiet the first time so she cocked an eyebrow.

  
"Ricky Tozawa. Don´t worry about the weird sounding last name. Not one hundred percent American." He laughed and quickly thanked the boy from the Marhawa Desire incident to have crossed his mind.   
"Alright! Ricky and Richard. What are you doing here, then?" Suddenly she seemed a little suspicious and Chris already saw the same events unfolding as in Woodsforth.

  
"Vacation?" Her expression lifted visibly as if she just answered her own question. Seeing that she seemed so comfortable with it, Chris nodded fast.   
"Well... I hope you don´t departure that fast. We really need more company here in this dying village...", she sighed and for a moment she just seemed to be lonely. But she dismissed it with a wave, apparently finally getting the hint and leaving them to eat their meals.

  
"Richard Aiken? As in... S.T.A.R.S. Richard Aiken?" Piers made his homework. Then again, he always did.  
The older one just gave a short nod, not wanting to talk about it. Not that this was something new to Piers. Chris never talked about Raccoon City. Especially about the mansion incident. It´s been almost 20 years, Chris...

  
That didn´t mean Piers didn´t know how to get his hands on information. With Chris being his idol ever since he first heard of him, Piers basically read every piece of literature that mentioned 'the legendary Chris Redfield' with just more than a word. That not being enough for him, he coaxed Jill into showing him the old files about the case once. It took him a lot of pleas and promises to take care of the team´s laundry for the next few weeks but in the end, he was allowed a little peak.   
Just three other members beside Jill and Chris got out alive. Jill had mentioned how bad it had been for Chris. With the police chief not believing them one word, they had pressure from all sides. S.T.A.R.S. was even about to be replaced. Chris really closed in after that time.

  
The name he just mentioned... he remembered it from the list of people that didn´t make it. Richard Aiken was a member of the Bravo Team, the first team that vanished. Jill recalled, after he asked her, that Chris mentioned the boy had died saving Chris. After that, she had continued to Piers, that he remembered her a lot of Richard.  
Not just the looks were some kind of similiar. No, his whole selfless attitude, jumping in front of a teammate to make a difference. Back then, a sly smile had crept on her lips and she had whispered how it was a whole different thing with Piers, though. It took the sniper the whole damn afternoon to figure it out. That she knew.

  
But Miss Valentine had no reason to mess him up so bad. It was as if they both made a silent contract not to tell anyone. That was at a time the BSAA was still like a big family. He could trust everyone. Even Jill.  
Now she was after his head just like everyone else in the organization.

  
The only one he had left, that didn´t brutally wanted to murder him was Chris.   
"It´s been 20 years, Chris...", he repeated his inner thoughts while he stubbornly kept his gaze fixed on his pancakes. Chris didn´t even touch his breakfast. He much rather continued to stare out the window. It was getting dark outside. It might rain later...

  
"Nah, more like 15...", the Captain answered much calmer than Piers would have imagined as they steered towards an issue he knew Chris could get really sensitive about.

  
The atmosphere shifted so drastically, Piers almost physically felt pained to have mentioned it. His partner seemed to pick up on it and thought about trying to lift the mood with a horrible stupid comment that was meant to be funny like 'I´m not that old' but thought better of it. He settled with the much more difficult but right choice and leaned slightly onto the table, making the old wood creak under his build.

  
"So you wanna talk about Raccoon, I assume..." Piers visibly perked up and looked at his superior with a surprised expression. "Wait... you would?!"

  
"Not really..." Chris heaved a sigh. "But I know you. You want to talk about it, so... we will eventually." Maybe this run-down diner wasn´t the best place to relive this nightmare once more. Then again the run-down trailer isn´t a good choice either. He had to accept it, that was their life now.

  
Piers in front of him nodded frantically but never stopped eating. Nothing could get in between him and foot. Not even the story he had been waiting to hear since years.

  
"I wasn´t into S.T.A.R.S. for that long when it happened. I was actually the last member that joined. Maybe... let´s say a few months. I had kept myself alive through some part time jobs after I dropped out of the Air Force. Since Claire was now living in a boarding school I knew her in good hands. So... I kinda just skipped around doing that and this."  
Chris´ voice was lacking any emotion, he was almost sounding lethargic. As if this wasn´t the story of his downfall, but someone else´s. But in the same moment Piers could see how hard he was trying to make that impression in the first place.   
"Of course not long after I started my new work, shit went down. Murders accured around the city. Terrible cases in which... people got eaten." Chris rubbed a hand over his eyes as he shifted his gaze to the table. Piers had noticed rather fast that was a nervous tick of Chris. Rubbing his face or, preferably, his hands as if he was cold.

  
"It went on for weeks and the police got a lot of shit for not being able to pin down who it was... or what. People started seeing things in the mountains. Like feral dogs but... you know, terribly mangled. Bravo Team was sent in to investigate but communication was cut short. You can imagine the rest. Wesker sent us in."

  
Chris actually did take his fork now but just to repeatedly put it in the eggs again and agin as if he tryed to murder them.  
"Well, we got there, got attacked, got left behind by our pilot and had to seek shelter in a huge ass mansion.... It was full with them. What we encounter these days with a whole 20 men squad, I and Jill had to face alone. A lot of people died that night..."  
Piers thought Chris might continue talking after that but he didn´t. He just sat there, bent over, starring at his food. Then again, what was still there to be said? Piers could imagine the rest. How it had to be for Chris. The loss, the betrayal of his Team Captain, the bitter truth and the realization that you can´t save anyone from the lurking threat if they don´t believe you.

  
"Do I... remind you of him?" Maybe it was a stupid question. It most certainly was. How did he thought it was a good idea to ask Chris to compare him to a person that was already dead for so long. But Jill´s words still hang in his ears and he would like to hear Chris´ thoughts on this. But maybe he really shouldn´t have.   
Chris´ eyes slowly came to meet his and his brows twisted in a frown.

  
"Of... Richard?" There was surprise in his voice as if he never thought about the paralells before. He probably never did.   
After a quick nod, Chris lowered his gaze slowly back to his plate.   
"I don´t know... You both are stupidly heroic... have to admit that." There was something akin to a snot that left Chris but the younger one wasn´t so sure.

  
But Redfield dismissed it fast with a shake of his head.   
"I mean, what did I knew of Richard? Not much to get to know from someone you work with for a few months... I mean, he was a kind, cheerful personality, always smiled and laughed..." Chris gave a pause before he cocked an eyebrow at no one in particular.

  
"I knew he was horribly in love." It was Piers´ turn to frown. Maybe he and Richard were more ali-  
"Was even about to marry her. Pretty beautiful, young lady named Bridgette if I remember correctly." Nevermind.   
Now Chris looked much more invested into what he was telling, as if remembering all these little images and details from a lifetime ago. His voice dropped in it´s volume to an almost unaudible whisper.   
"I knew she was super protective over him. Wanted him to quit S.R.A.R.S.... Just imagine her after she had to find out he died serving."

  
"..."

  
"Jumped right in front of me, the fucker... The thing would have gotten me, you know... the shark. But it didn´t. Instead it got Richard..."

  
Chris´ shoves with his fork got more aggressive and Piers thought dryly, if this would be something living it was facing the worst kind of torture right now.   
"Like you did too... I wish people would stop doing that..." He now ceased every motion and growled as Piers threw a clueless look over to him.

  
"Thinking it´s worth sacrificing their fucking lives for someone like me!"

  
Piers would have given him a piece of his mind if it wouldn´t have been for the sudden clank of metal that came from the counter and let their heads turn over to Ayssa who stood there behind it, obviously startled from Chris´ outbreak. So much she in fact dropped a fork she had been holding. Their gazes connected and the orange haired girl blushed lightly before excusing herself and exiting through a door just behind her.

  
"...She just eavesdropped, didn´t she?" Chris grunted and still kept the door in the corner of his eyes. Not that she could probably make much sense out of the information... yet. This town wasn´t safe for them, he would still have to make Piers understand that.

  
"Well, she couldn´t have missed you raising your voice like this.", the sniper replied calmly and layed his cutlery down on his empty plate and leaned onto the table like Chris now.

  
The older one noticed his plate was still untouched as Piers gave him a disapproving look and he started eating, thinking of this conversation as over. But it wasn´t. Not for Piers. So he quietly continued talking while his eyes watched Chris.   
"Have you ever thought that you are? You know, worth it?" A small silence filled the room before Piers continued to mutter a silent "For some of us..." but it was so quiet Chris pretended he didn´t hear it. Piers obviously didn´t wanted him to in the first place.

  
"Since when am I so much more important than others? I... did some awesome things in the past, that might be true. But did you realize that everything I did lately fucked up? Getting my men killed and all. Maybe it was good that we left it all behind."  
"Okay, apart that we were forced to leave..." Piers sighed. "You know I hated the thought of you retiring.", the sniper answered with all the seriousness he had while keeping eyecontact with Chris.

  
"And we both know that some missions just go wrong, that´s the military for you, Chris. You should know of all people! And for what was before... you saved this world, multiple times even. You saved so many human lives by taking out Wesker!"  
Brown eyes locked with hazel and Piers held his gaze determined. In the end it was Chris who backed down first and lightly shook his head and resumed eating.

  
"What I mean is... I don´t regret almost dying if it meant you would get out alive. If I had to, I might do it again..."  
Chris dropped his cutlery. If it was because he was done with eating or actually shocked, Piers didn´t know. And never would. Because it was almost as if Alyssa had heard them finishing their breakfast as she came through the same door she had left through earlier and strolled over to the two soldiers in disguise.

  
"Richard! Ricky!", she cheered and took a hold of one of the chairs standing around and pulled it closer to them, dropping down on it. Chris felt uncomfortable as fuck while Piers just tried to keep a friendly face. He´d have to get use to the new names.

  
"Did you know that you visited the village at a good point in time? We´re having a festival in a few days. I´d like to see you both there.~"

  
Chris was actually suprised she was so casual, especially with him. No 'Mr. Aiken' or any bullshit, she just went straight with Richard even though he could be her father. Maybe it was the country way around here.   
He was about to decline but Piers was faster and nodded slowly even if clearly uncertain.

  
Chris supressed a sigh. Why did Piers feel so 'at home' here? Why was he trying so desperatly to stay here? Was it because Alyssa had spotted his clear scars for some time now and didn´t say anything insulting about it? That she even still seemed to be interested? That had to be charming for Piers... Chris thought growling.

  
Neither the less, the Captain had already given up and kept his mouth shut in the situation. If Piers got them into this, he might as well deal with it himself.

  
"Awesome!" Or so he thought before Alyssa actually jumped up in joy and threw her arms around the young sniper, hugging him as hard as she could.

  
"Okay!" Chris yelled out louder than it was necessary and it made them both look up at him as he rose to his feet. Enough was enough. The waitress seemed to be already really cautious around Chris and backed away from Piers immediatly, but still smiling.

  
"So maybe we should exchange numbers then, no?"  
This got worse every second and he actually hoped Piers wouldn´t do that.   
They got rid of their original phones in the beginning of their trip knowing full well that they could be tracked down with it. And for the longest time they were convinced that they didn´t need any. Until they almost got seperated in a bigger city the other day and decided to buy two really cheap models in a second hand shop. It seemed safe and practical for little money.  
But Piers rejected his silent prayers as he pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. You could tell it was a cheap model and if Alyssa noticed she didn´t say anything.

  
Well, then she drew her´s, it didn´t look any better to be honest.   
Chris quietly seated himself again, clearing his throat and pretending to not stare intently at what they were doing. Piers was smiling. He was fucking smiling towards that girl more in 5 minutes than he did towards Chris in two weeks of road trip!  
And Piers didn´t smile much. Then again, the sniper was good at acting a certain way when meeting new people. Chris blew out the air through his nose as he kept his gaze fixed. Not long after, Alyssa and Piers looked up from their cells and a huge grin crossed the girl´s features.

  
"So we see each other on Saturday, yeah?", her melodic voice rang through the diner. "I´ll write you about the time-"  
Chris got up one more time and growled. "Yeah, whatever. Saturday it is." The older soldier snorted and stomped slowly over to the exit after dropping some dollar bills on the table, hands shoved down his pockets and staring dead ahead. There was something inside him that calmed down immensly after he heard his partner getting up also, waving Alyssa goodbye and joining him outside a second after.

  
"What´s wrong with you today?" There it was. The sassy, pissed attitude he knew so well from Piers lately. Chris had to admit, he kinda brought that down on himself. But it still bothered him that he talked so... different with Alyssa.

  
"Like I said, this place is getting to me!" Chris turned away from the building on the other side of the road he had concentrated on and whirled over to the other. "You don´t seriously expect us to go to that weird ass festival now, do you?!"  
"Actually, I really much did." Piers was no one to back down and his response was cold and dry like usually when he argued.   
Chris held in his breath and took a step closer to the younger one. They were so close he had to look down onto Piers and the young sniper was once more reminded how much Chris outweighted him when it came to physical build and strenght. Not that that ever scared him or even just imtimidated him.

  
"We are NOT attending that festival bullshit. If anything, we´re gone by tomorrow morning!"   
"I really don´t agree with your opinion, Christopher." Oh, Piers gave him that Christopher shit. Chris suppressed a growl. He didn´t even have a right to talk back to him like that.

  
"Okay, lieutenant... You wanna play it like that? Fine." The Captain of Alpha Team reached out and twisted his right hand painfully firm up in Piers´ collar, putting pressure on the fabric to the point where it gave a desperate, little, creaking noise. Now Piers looked slightly intimidated. Redfield inched his face closer to him like he had imagined it a thousand times before but this wasn´t anything like he wanted it to be.

  
"We´re leaving. And that´s an order." Chris didn´t like pulling ranks on Piers. In fact he rarely did it before. But if there was anything that would put Piers in his place when he was being stubborn, it was, well... ranks.   
Besides of course, that one time, when it was most important and Piers had refused to open the- No, nevermind, don´t think about it!

  
"...Very well, sir." That´s a good soldier. Chris would have snorted. He actually couldn´t quite hold it back as he released his grip on Piers´ hoodie and finally took a step back, out of Piers´ personal bubble. Not failing to notice the slight tingle of pink on his protege´s cheekbones.

  
They technically weren´t in service anymore but it was nice to know that still worked on him.   
It got awkward fast so the veteran turned back around and followed the street to accomplish their main objective why they came here. Leaving a frowining Piers behind, that had just been so unlike Chris...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, just a small reminder that you could check me out on Tumblr, if you want to~   
> http://phylalayla.tumblr.com/  
> There isn´t so much going on there but I would still appreciate it.  
> Oh, and there is a thing existing on my phone, called a Vagabond Playlist. Yeah, I made a playlist for this that actually goes with a few things happening in here, I was just curious if anyone would ever be interested about these songs x'D  
> (And like I promise, a little longer chapter)


	6. Helping Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piers just wanted to be polite and get to know this weird girl from the diner a little more. But unfortunately, Piers also knew Chris would be upset about it, for whatever reason. So in which moment did he think sneaking out at the break of dawn was a good idea?

Bearcreek had a grocery store. Not the biggest and also the only one in the area but they just had to make use of what they had.

  
And once again the game repeated itself as people from the village threw obvious looks over to them. Most of them just looked curious for a second before losing all interest. Others seemed a bit more confused.  
Maybe because Piers had by now decided to not put the hoodie over his face anymore. Walking around almost carelessly and showing everyone his scars. It was as if his whole behavior made an 180-degree turn...

  
And Chris was actually grateful for it. Even as they walked back through the village, with bags in hand and people curiously inspecting them, Piers continued to smile and even greeted warmly here and there which got him smiles from the other people in return.

  
When they got back to the trailer and Chris unlocked the door, he began thinking. Piers seemed to be happy... here. But... they couldn´t...

  
"Hey, Chris... How about opening the door now...?" Surprised that he let himself get carried away enough that he forgot about his surroundings, Chris cleared his throat and awkwardly pushed the door open, entering the vehicle with Piers following close behind.

  
The rest of the day went by pretty calm even though Piers suggested multiple times, after they made some food, that they could still go out and look around Bearcreek some more because it was actually not even that late yet. Chris refused every single time so they stayed inside and went to bed early since Chris still insisted to leave in the morning which got him a sour grunt from Piers each time.

 

\-----------------------------

 

  
But when said morning came, Chris Redfield woke up to an empty space next to him.

  
"..." First not realizing the missing presence in the bed, he rolled over, closer to where he suspected his partner. They had become more comfortable with each other so close. Sometimes they even enjoyed sleeping with their backs or arms touching. Just some reassurance that someone else was there that got their back, should something happen.

  
So when Chris inched even closer to feel Piers next to him but the warm touch didn´t appear anywhere, the veteran rubbed his eyes slightly more awake and threw a tired look to his right.

  
"Hey, pup..."

  
Piers indeed wasn´t there.

  
Instant panic settled in his gut as Chris immediately sat up, making the sheets slip off his naked upper body. He looked around the small trailer frantically but Piers was nowhere to be seen.

  
Practically jumping up from the bed, he made his way fast over to the bathroom door and knocked.  
"Piers, you in there?" No response, not even after a second, harder knock. Opening the door, he found the room empty.

  
A slight pang of pain erupted in the back of his head and he regretted getting up so fucking fast as his vision became blurry for the slightest second. Ugh, he became too old to just carelessly jump to his feet right after he woke up.

  
His right hand found the sink and Chris sought support at it as he closed his eyes and waited for the dizziness to subside.   
I did but slow and Chris got actually nervous as he remembered that he ran out of his medication the doctor had prescribed him years ago. It were antidepressant pills he took ever since Kijuju. In the beginning a lot of them, then eventually it got lowered.

  
He had a pack of them on him as they escaped BSAA HQ but they had been on the run for more than two weeks now and he took the last one three days ago.   
He knew the things that could potentially happen such as hallucinations, fits of anger and rage and, of course, the depression to pick up again. But he tried to push these unsettling thoughts away as he slowly left the bathroom, his blank feet making slapping sounds on the cold tiles.

  
Where the fuck was Piers? And that he was so worried right now, certainly didn´t help his condition at all...

 

  
\---------

 

  
"And then he actually tried to push the cow over! You know what happened?! She took a giant shit on his boots!" Alyssa laughed out loud as if she just told him the funniest thing in the world. To her it probably was.   
So Piers played along and gave a small chuckle. The girl was actually not even that bad. Socially awkward, maybe a little. Maybe a little rude too, hence the growing up in a small village but not even that bad.

  
Piers could relate to her in a way, he thought as he stared ahead over to the field they sat in front of. The weed was already cut down a long time ago. After all, winter was coming. So it laid naked and bare before them, the ground clearly showing through the thin, run-down straws. They sat on the gravel path right before it with trees here and there around them.   
He knew how it could be, growing up in the middle of nowhere, having no one else but yourself and you just entertain yourself by running around the village, the fields, the forest and just observe wildlife and people. It could get lonely. Alyssa seemed to know. Maybe that was why they could connect so good.

  
She had written him a text message this morning, having asked him to meet at the diner. With Chris still soundly sleeping, the sniper couldn´t come up with much against it (maybe he also felt like Chris deserved it as a payback for wanting to leave this village) and agreed. So the last two hours they had wandered around Bearcreek, looking at random buildings while they just... talked. Well, Alyssa did most of the talking but it was nice.

  
"And you? Did you have cows, Ricky?" She already knew he came from a farm, that much he told her. Couldn´t hurt saying this, right?   
Piers leaned a little more forwards, wrapping his arms around his drawn up knees. He gave a sigh. But not one of these sad ones, no. Right now he was pretty content with the world.   
"We had, but not many. Just two. Bertha and Caroline. Like I said, our farm wasn´t that big."  
"It´s awesome, though.", she smiled.

  
Apparently, Alyssa lived here just with her mom. They had a small house with a few animals like chickens and rabbits that they were breeding on their property. Even though Alyssa had always played with the bigger animals of the neighbors.   
Bearcreek was a farmer´s village that was born, like many villages, through the gold rush when hoping people came here and randomly dug for gold. Sadly, Bearcreek had little to offer and most of the people vanished. Not all of them, though.   
But even if all the other people around mostly kept themselves alive through farming, Alyssa and her mom did not.  
Her father had a small construction company going. With Bearcreek being so small, they had a wide area to cover, taking assignments from here and all the other villages around.

  
But sadly her father died four years ago as a terrible accident happened and he fell off a roof. He was dead immediately. Alyssa´s mom, Patrica, took over her husband´s business and it still was going strong.  
When Alyssa had mentioned her father, Piers had offered his compassion but Alyssa just smiled. He was glad that she apparently got over it so well.

  
"I talked a lot about me today... I´m sorry if I´m annoying you, really.", she smiled lightly and looked up in the sky.   
"It´s fine, you don´t annoy me. It was fun, running around Bearcreek" The next part he almost whispered. "I just have to convince Chr-Richard that we´re staying somehow..."

  
"So...", Alyssa started slow and looked over to him. "Are you and Richard related? Like... is he your father or something?" Chris, his father?! Hell, no...

  
"No, he isn´t. We´re just... friends. We worked together for a long time, that is all."

  
"Uh~ Tell me, tell me!", she cheered now and turned around so she was now facing him. Well done, Piers! He let out a long sigh, saving some precious seconds to come up with something in his head. This girl really was something...

  
"We were working... at STAGLA." He suddenly remembered the gas company that had subsidiary all around the US.   
"The one we were working in had a garage attached to it, you know." This was going pretty well so far. "Richard´s workplace was over there, he... repaired cars, you know. And I... well, I was working with the customers that gassed up." He had another idea of how that could all fit together and pointed at the right side of his face.

  
"No one was able to find out why, not even the police, but one day the gas station blew up."  
"That´s how you got the scars?", she whispered horrified and Piers just nodded.

  
"Richard heard the explosion and came to pull me out the burning building before worse could happen. After that event, I fell into a deep hole and Richard and I bought this trailer, tied up all loose ends and kinda just drive around the US now.", he finished so believable that he could almost fall for his own story. Piers Nivans was officially a genius, give this man an oscar.   
Alyssa was about to say how sorry she was and all that bullshit but Piers dismissed it with a wave when he felt his phone buzzing.

  
It was Chris. It was a text message and just now Piers noticed that Chris had tried to call him multiple times before. So he was awake and found out he was missing, nice.

  
-Where the FUCK are you?!-

  
Well...

  
"Who is it, huh?~", Alyssa´s sweet voice sang behind him and Piers actually started to stutter as he felt her hand reaching out and laying down on his shoulder. Okay, bad touch...

  
"I-it´s Richard. I might... have to go. Like now.", he got out and slowly pushed himself to his feet.   
"Richard? Doesn´t he know you left? Is he mad?" Piers ignored her second question, because yes, Chris probably was mad as fuck.   
"He kinda still slept... when I sneaked out.", he went on as he looked over to the direction they came from but he felt Alyssa at his side in the next second.  
"I-I should come too, then..."

  
He whirled around to her and looked down at her in surprise. “I don't think that would be a good idea. Richard will probably be pissed already, you know? And he kinda…”  
“Doesn't like me.”, Alyssa finished for him and Piers had to agree even if he didn't like it. But he’d like it much less if he would lie to her.

  
“But I would still like to accompany you, though. Maybe I can apologize then… for whatever I did.”

  
The sniper still wanted to argue his case but once more he felt the urgent buzzing of his phone.

  
-Come home NOW or at least pick up, you shithead!-

  
This was getting intense and Piers was running out of time so he bit his bottom lip before sighing and marching on, not caring if she came with him or not.  
His hands practically flew over the phone as he tried to send some reassuring words to his secret crush.

  
-Hey! I’m on my way to you right now. Calm down!-

  
It didn't take even another minute of silent walking before it went off once more.

  
-Are you fucking serious!? Move your ass over here!!-

  
He gave a sigh. Somehow he got the feeling Chris kinda changed. Slowly. Getting more and more angry…

  
-You mean my cute, good looking ass?~-

  
No response to this, of course.  
Alyssa next to him eyed him worried. But he refused to explain the situation further.

 

  
\-----------

 

  
So when the trailer came in sight, around 15 minutes later, a giant lump had formed in Piers’ throat.  
Alyssa offered some encouraging words but they did little good.  
When they got even closer, Piers spotted him right there, Chris was hunched over in one of the camping chairs he probably dragged outside. Resting his head in one of his hands, the other one holding one of his cancer sticks, he looked so terribly lost.

  
“Chr-Richard?” He had to remind himself to use the right name with Alyssa around.   
Immediately Chris’ head snapped around as he recognized the voice.

  
“Piers!” He yelled and instantly jumped to his feet. Piers sucked the air in nervously but as he threw a look over to Alyssa from the corner of his eyes, she didn't even seem to have paid attention to it.  
The young ace took a step forward to meet Chris halfway.

  
The Captain threw his arms around the younger one and hugged him tight. It made a blush creep on Piers’ cheeks. The “You fucking Idiot!” that came next, kinda killed the mood but alright…

  
“Richard…” The name not being his real one, he first didn't react when Alyssa carefully made her way over to them. Maybe that or the fact that he was still worried shitless over his partner going missing.   
Just when she already appeared right next to them and tried to touch his shoulder, his reflexes kicked in.

  
“Rich-”

  
Chris let go of Piers in a split second and got a strong hold of Alyssa’s wrist before she could touch him. A surprised yelp escaped her. It didn't exactly hurt but she felt the potential he had to outright break her arm if he wanted to…

  
But she could see the realization sink in, in his eyes, and his grip weakened fast until he eventually left up from her.  
"I... am sorry, the reflexes...", he pressed out behind gritted teeth. The meds were wearing off fast and any sudden movement had him on edge... He couldn´t hide it, Piers was picking up on it fast and gave a frown. Even Alyssa seemed suspicious.  
"...What reflexes?" But once again Piers was quick to jump to excuses.

  
"Richard... used to hunt. When you lie in the dirt the whole day, waiting for any movement, you become sensitive to them..." He gave a nervous chuckle.  
"Oh really? You hunt? There are a lot of people in Bearcreek who do that too. I could introduce you to some people on the festival." Good thing, Alyssa was so dense and easy to distract.

  
"Yeah... Yeah, that would be... splendid." Chris´ voice was so thin and shaking and for the first time in so long Piers could practically smell that something was wrong with the veteran. The last time he saw him so insecure was in Edonia. Maybe China... Even though Chris had hidden it behind a wall of rage back at the time when really all it was, was guilt.

  
"So now...", the sweet melodic voice of Alyssa sounded once more through the green trees around them, "This is where you are 'living' right now?" Her emerald eyes roamed around and came to lay on the trailer. "You guys don´t have to be here, outside. I already told a few people about you, you can come into the village with your trailer. They don´t mind."

  
The idea wasn´t really appealing to Chris. Even less that she went around, talking about them. Goddammit, if it wasn´t for Piers disappearing, he would have been on the interstate right now!

  
Piers smiled that smile again. The one he didn´t like him giving Alyssa.

  
The girl apparently liked to hear herself talk and babbled on.   
"The thing is... Bearcreek does not have that name for nothing. These woods are kinda dangerous at night. We got bears, of course. And moose. I mean, they are not out to tear your throat open but they can get kinda aggressive. Oh, and a few wolf packs have been sighted the last months too."

  
Her hands fell on her hips and she gave them that look that said 'Don´t argue, I know it better'. Oh, if she knew the things Chris Redfield was dealing with before... A bear wouldn´t stand a chance against a hunter. Never.

  
He looked at Piers and the boy shrugged. Rubbing his temples, Chris took a last drag of his cigarette and stomped the butt in the ground. He had to finally see that he was being defeated.

  
"Fine." No arguing, no bitching. Just a simple 'fine'. He knew when his chances vanished. There was no way he could keep up the fight, not in his condition. Not with Piers siding with the enemy.

  
A quiet cheer left the orange haired girl´s mouth and Chris asked himself what he had ever done in a former life to deserve that. Not to mention all the other shit that ever went down in his life.   
"Alright!" Alyssa pulled her phone free from her jacket and started typing suddenly. Chris and Piers exchanged a look in confusion until the buzzing of Piers´ phone broke the silence.

  
An address.

  
"Like I said, Mom and I have some space on our property. You can come over."

  
"Are you seriously suggesting we park our trailer on your front lawn?!", Chris snorted. This girl was testing his patience. Driving into town with this thing, fine. Parking it in the garden of someone else, no.

  
"Yup. Oh wait, you might not find the way. How about I give you direction while driving?"


	7. Stay A While

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Chr-" But now, when Chris was in front of him and even seemed to want to talk right now, there were no words in his head anymore. Even less so, when said man was suddenly leaning over in a quick movement and was now right in his face.  
> But there was no touching of their lips, no nothing. Chris´ face just hovered there in front of him. And Piers couldn´t figure out if this was a good thing or not.

He had been dealing with a lot in his lifetime. A lot of shit and also a lot of people. Crazy people. Chris had considered himself someone who could handle the situation, no matter what. But he couldn´t fight the anger creeping up.

  
Not that he understood why. Alyssa was a nice girl. Maybe a little too loud for his taste but he wasn´t any different in this age. In a way, she was like Claire when she was in college. Jup, all in all, she reminded him of his younger sister. But the girl was too nice for her own good. They were practically strangers and she had just given them her address.

  
It was so... weird. As if she was desperate for some company. Chris could relate, really he could. They were a lot of times he wished he had someone there when he had to raise Claire all by himself. But this was extreme. Or maybe... it was another reason altogether. He might have become paranoid after 20 years of fighting bioterror. But the worst scenarios played out in his mind. Maybe she knew, had found out who they were and lured them in just to sell them to the BSAA later on...The paranoia was

The paranoia was peaking up again, he really needed another pack of meds soon...

  
Piers noticed Chris´ nervousness right away when the older man´s palms found each other and started rubbing. One might think it was from the raising chillness of the air, after all it was getting closer to the night.  
But no, once more he remembered the signs of Chris losing his shit. Throwing one last glance at Alyssa, he started pushing Chris closer to the trailer. "Excuse us~."

  
Chris´ hands found Piers´ wrist in a heartbeat. They grabbed on firmly and lightly started twisting them. Piers felt the slight pain erupting where Chris was pressing down on him but neither the less continued pushing him closer to the vehicle until they were out of earshot.

  
The moment Piers let go of him, Chris did the same. After all, Piers knew it was just a self-defense mechanism and he wasn´t judging the older soldier for that.

  
"I don´t seem to recognize you anymore." Oh, he was so wonderfully capable of using that ice-cold stare and it worked it´s magic on Chris like always. He instantly dropped his gaze.  
"Don´t know what you mean." It was a rare thing to hear Chris Redfield mumble. He always voiced out his thoughts clear and loud and, in return, expected that from his men, too. The way he sounded and looked now was Edonia all over again and Piers felt the sting in his chest.

  
"There´s obviously something you´re not telling me!" Chris crossed his arms in front of his chest while Piers put his hands on his hips. The basic representation of their relationship in one picture.  
But Chris seemed to bend in rather fast this time. Maybe he recalled that not talking about shit, didn´t get them far in the past. Maybe it was the effects of his lacking meds. Maybe it was both.

  
"Piers... I don´t have Lexapro anymore..." It took the sniper a long moment to remember the name. Lexapro. That were anti-depressants.

  
"Wait... You don´t take them anymore, do you? How long?"  
"Excuse me, but you can´t just get these without prescription. And I can´t just run to a doctor and fake my whole identity. Ever noticed that we don´t even have IDs on us?!" Of course, Piers did.

  
Piers´ palm found his forehead and a long sigh escaped him. Yes, it did explain Chris´ behavior but this was leading to more trouble than they needed.  
"The last one I took was three and a half days ago..." Somehow Piers got the feeling Chris´ voice was dying further every time he spoke a word.

  
"Alright, alright, we´ll figure something out, I promise. But for now, please just please, try to behave not so extreme?" Piers knew he was asking for a lot from Chris right now. But the situation they had on hand needed a solution and he´d be damned before he´d give up on that.  
He had the feeling the last time he said _that_ , exactly that came true...

  
A silent nod. No words left Chris´ mouth and just as silently, they made their way back to Alyssa who stood there with the most awkward smile on her face Piers had ever seen on a human.

  
"Alright. I´m sorry but Richard is just having a little headache today." She was growing more and more suspicious, Piers was sure of it. He could just hope that they didn´t fuck up everything.

  
So in the end, Piers led her and Chris inside the trailer and, when Chris let himself fall in the driver´s seat, convinced him rather fast to take over. After all, this time Chris knew something serious was up with him.

  
It wasn´t even a ten minutes ride. Not that he expected anything else from Bearcreek.

  
But he was grateful for it. He had felt the awkwardness raise constantly, especially from the point onwards when Alyssa tried to apologize to Chris for no reason. Obviously, she still felt like she´d done something wrong in his presence. Piers couldn't explain it to himself what got Chris so mad at her either...

  
Chris had just waved it off, however. Even after the fourth time of her saying sorry, he still stayed collected for a chance and even offered her a smile, telling her not to worry and that it really was just the headache.

  
The moment they pulled up in the driveway, Alyssa jumped out of the trailer and rushed over to the front gate, that was the same gray color like the fading daylight in the moment. Piers almost didn´t see and ran over it. That would have been a bummer.

  
Alyssa went to work with the keys and opened it as fast as she could before she motioned for Piers to drive in.  
It felt wrong, to say the least, to drive onto a stranger´s property and it felt even weirder when he came to a halt after driving a few meter further in and slammed in the gear to parking.

  
The whole time Chris didn´t say a word and even now, when he turned to him, he just stared into the nothing.  
"Hey..." Piers laid his head a little to the side and his voice was thicker with sentiment and care than he ever remembered speaking before.

  
Still, Chris´ head whipped around like he just spotted a murderous J´avo somewhere and it almost sparked something akin to panic in Piers also. Because he just knew this look from the field. If Piers didn´t know any better, he´d say there was something behind him ready to kill the sniper.  
Chris really needed these meds...

  
"Chris, you need to calm down at least a little..." Piers Nivans wasn´t the best at comforting people actually. It had always been Chris who got their men´s spirits up. Who delivered a good heartfelt talk. Who made you believe you could achieve so much more.

  
The sniper remembered once having a talk with Sheva, Chris´ partner in Afrika, over the phone when he was missing and Piers had to clasp at every straw for any hints. She said he just had that side on him, something that rose your spirit to a level, you swear you get more capable of doing the impossible.

  
And now it was this man, his role model, his ever admired idol, that was staring back at him like he was an empty shell. And Piers was hopelessly drowning in this situation.

  
The silence was stretching and it was like Chris was waiting for him to do something. That or he actually was having a silent panic attack inside.

  
"We´re fine. You see, if it means so much to you, we´ll get the hell out of here by tomorrow morning and... look for a way to get you these pills." Actually, he had no idea how they should do that but alright...

  
Another few precious seconds wasted away and hazel eyes searched Chris´ face in worry, while the owner of them awkwardly shuffled closer to the source of offered compassion. You could say that by now Piers didn´t really care anymore if he made a fool out of himself but still slightly hesitated before reaching out and resting a hand on the older man´s thigh.

  
This might have been weird. But not weirder than holding the hand of your superior while watching fireflies on the edge of some lake in the woods by night. Not quite as much.

  
"Chr-" But now, when Chris was in front of him and even seemed to want to talk right now, there were no words in his head anymore. Even less so when said man was suddenly leaning over in a quick movement and was now right in his face.  
But there was no touching of their lips, no nothing. Chris´ face just hovered there in front of him. And Piers couldn´t figure out if this was a good thing or not.

  
"Ah... I, uh. Erm..." It wasn´t like Piers to stutter. But with Chris leaning over to his seat and Piers having not much space to dodge anywhere anymore, this was getting... rather too close.

  
The young sniper could make out every detail about the man´s face that he had worked with for over four years now. His hair got slightly longer since they started their trip. Not just that but by now his stubble was growing into something close to a short beard. If he was honest, Piers didn´t like it. Not that it was his business but the Captain more and more started to look really unkempt.

  
Maybe, after all, it was time for them to settle down somewhere.

  
The brown eyes kept observing him with great concentration. Just like Piers himself did. There was a small blue shimmer in the middle of these experienced orbs, that he failed to notice all that time before. He almost felt ashamed for missing that small detail, even though details were all about his job as a sniper.

  
All in all, Chris looked a lot more battered like he remembered him doing yesterday. And Piers didn´t even want to think about what Chris had to think with all these obvious scars suddenly so close. Maybe, probably he wasn´t disgusted by them but Piers wasn´t stupid. He knew they looked horrifying up close.

  
"Quiet now..."

  
All of that, however, became suddenly so entirely unimportant when the older one undid his seat belt and threw a leg over Piers to come to rest on his lap, straddling him in the driver´s seat.

  
Piers´ hands found his superior´s hips naturally. He would have imagined Chris to be heavier. But in reality, it was comfortable like this, even with the little space they had here in the front. There was no need to worry about his hands touching Chris or how their faces inched closer ever so slightly. In this moment there was no need to worry about anything.

  
Maybe Chris needed this to calm himself. If that was the case, Piers started grinning, he would gladly be of service.  
An unprepared gasp filled the air when Chris´ hands came to lie on Piers´ chest. The whole situation in itself was foreign, but not strange in a bad way. Maybe in a good way, yeah...

  
The hands started kneading and, though he had felt for a moment like he had power over the man in his arms, now he was reminded of Chris´ brutal strength that came from above him. The motion in itself, though, felt overwhelming.  
But there was also that slight hesitation in the beginning that told Piers he had just touched women like this before. And was now unsure of certain body parts missing. But that was okay with Piers as long as he could just sit here and Chris wouldn´t stop being so devilishly good at just... touching Piers.

  
He couldn´t help it when a quiet moan escaped him. Piers really tried to hold it in. He knew Alyssa was probably just waiting outside the trailer and stuff. But Chris´ mouth had found his neck and the first real contact of that warm, wet cavity with his skin got Piers on overdrive.

  
"Ah...!"

  
It came out louder as intended with Chris deciding just in that moment to lick while rubbing the younger one´s nipples through the fabric of his shirt.

  
What was he doing? How did that happen?!

  
He couldn´t. He needed Chris. And the sooner the better, his foggy mind told him and sent blood towards his middle and he knew these pants would become tight rather soon. In addition to that, Chris´ fingertips of one hand snaked under his shirt while the other kept rubbing. It was traveling further up, riding the shirt up, too, in the process, revealing some muscle but also, that Piers didn´t like at all, more scars on his right side.

  
"I like them...", Chris whispered as if already reading Piers´ mind and giving an answer to the unspoken thought. His mouth left Piers´ neck, not without breathing against the wet trail once more, and traveled downwards to the revealed skin.  
But it didn´t make contact.

  
"Mom, please! Don´t freak out. These are my friends!" The door to the back of the trailer flew open with the force of a rhino entering. Military reflexes got the better of Chris for the second time of the day and he stood in a split second, tall and careful watching the door collide with something and slowly bouncing back. It gave Piers enough time to pull down his shirt again to cover up all the open skin and even as far so there was a chance it would hopefully hide the bulge that had formed in his pants, unbuckle his seat belt and turn in the direction of the sound as well.

  
Just in time, as a woman entered the vehicle they never saw before. But Alyssa right after her indicated that it was probably Patricia, her mother.

  
"Who are you and what are you doing on my lawn?!" Good thing that Alyssa apparently didn´t say a word about this to her mom...

  
Chris squinted his eyes in suspicion and observed the woman in front of him. She was his age, maybe a few years older. Then again, guessing people´s ages wasn´t his best ability. Her chestnut colored hair was tied in a neat bun with a strand of hair on either side of her face hanging down, framing it perfectly.

  
Her eyes shimmered a bright green like the one´s of her daughter. That and the few freckles on her face were the only resemblance between the two.

  
Patricia was wearing one of these business blazers. He had no idea why but Chris would have imagined Alyssa´s mom more the type of woman who would wear aprons at home. When again he didn´t know about her job yet, unlike Piers.  
Her whole clothing, in general, was black and it was hard to make her whole silhouette out in the darkness of the unlit trailer.  
"Like I said, Mom! I invited some friends over!"

  
"These men look way too old to be your friends!" She seemed to be that kind of mother, huh...?  
Green eyes laid on Piers and she scoffed, thinking for a moment that maybe he was after all her age. Next, her piercing gaze met Chris and even though, yes, he was too old to be friends with her daughter, her eyes went big.

 

Because after all, that man wasn´t her daughter´s age but her´s...

  
Patricia couldn´t fight the light blush creeping on her face as she took a more friendly stand and even walked over to them, smiling. It was as if this woman had changed her whole personality as she came to a stop in front of them and shyly brushed on of the strands behind her ear, giving her an almost girly look.

  
"I´m sorry. I just get protective over little Alyssa there. She´s always in so much trouble.~" There was no trace of the rage from before in her voice anymore as she extended her hand towards Chris.

  
"Patricia Hanson. With whom do I have the pleasure?"

  
Without missing a beat, Chris took a hold of her hand. "Richard Aiken. Nice to meet you." Just kidding, it wasn´t...  
"Richard. What a nice name for a man like you." Chris could feel Piers next to him cringing and even he had problems to not do so.

  
Luckily she kept going rather fast. "If I´m allowed to ask, what does bring you here?" The whole time she spoke, her eyes never left Chris to look over to Piers and the sniper hated it.

  
Almost a little lost, Chris threw a look over Patricia´s shoulder over to Alyssa. She was at their side immediatly. "You see, like I´m trying to tell you the whole time, these are new friends I made at the diner. They are staying here for a little while and I didn´t want them to camp out in the woods!"

  
"Ah, I see. You always were so helpful towards others." Patricia went to pat Alyssa on the shoulder and gave her a proud smile.  
"My name is Ricky, by the way...", Piers´voice rang out so dry and pissed that Patricia seemed to just notice him now.

  
"Hello, Ricky." It was short, it was uninterested.

  
"I didn´t count with visitors but I think dinner should be enough for all of us." A short discussion followed in which Chris and Piers tried to make them understand that that wasn´t necessary and they had food here in the trailer. Especially Piers had no intention of spending time with this woman.


	8. Disastrous Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He walked back into the living room to Piers holding Alyssa Hanson´s hand and leaning half over her, wiping a tear off her cheek, smiling.  
> You know what, fuck this. He might should have taken Patricia instead, after all...

  
But Patricia was even more stubborn than Jill if she wanted her will and that really meant something.

  
So right now both undercover soldiers found themselves seated on an expensive looking, dark wooden table with a plate full of steak in front of them. It really came back over and over to haunt them.

  
It was awkwardly silent in the room and it got even worse when Patricia finally sat down too after Alyssa and lowered her head while her hands found each other and she started praying.  
"Be present at our table, oh Lord. Be here and everywhere adored. These mercies bless and grant that we, may feast in fellowship with thee. God, bless this food we are about to receive through christ. Give bread to those who hunger, and hunger for charity and justice to us who have bread. Amen."

  
"...Amen." Half through Piers and Chris were late to react but hastily clasped their hands together and answered the prayer at the end.

  
Chris couldn´t remember the last time he prayed at the table. His parents had raised him and Claire to do it and even after their death, Chris had always paid great attention that Claire showed respect towards the lord. But after Raccoon City... he had lost the hope that there was someone above who was watching out for them.

  
And Piers... for him it didn´t feel as foreign. After all, it wasn´t as long for him since he left home. Both his mother and father were religious and praying was a natural thing to him. He didn´t know if he considered himself religious... Ever since he joined the military, the thought kinda just fell asleep. So as of now, he really didn´t know...

  
Patricia gave them a warm smile and they started eating. It was good, to say the least, having something warm and filling after so long. So Chris was grateful for it.

  
But the way Alyssa´s mom kept looking over to him gave Chris a bad feeling.  
He wasn´t as dense as everyone liked to believe all the time. He knew when a woman was flirting with him. At least when it was as obvious as in this case. It reminded him of Jessica´s behavior in a way. The girl tried way too hard and was way too obnoxious.

  
And couldn´t get the hint herself. In the end, he was more than happy to have stayed away from that traitor. Not that Jessica wasn´t nice to look at but not his type.

  
Then again, what was his type anyway? There didn´t seem to be one in particular. The last years, Chris had restrained himself from dating. It wasn´t that he couldn´t find someone he liked. It was his job that got him to make that decision.  
The loss of a loved one is the worst thing that can happen to someone, Chris had to learn that fast. And the thought that he would get close to someone and then leave them behind was unbearable. He had seen it often enough when his comrades didn´t make it and someone had to bring the news to the family... Sometimes even he himself. It was terrible.

  
He didn´t want that to happen to anyone. So there had been no woman, no matter how beautiful, that could have gotten him into a serious relationship. But he was still just a man.

  
So once in a while, he had found himself in an encounter with a pretty little thing that lasted for a night. Now don´t get him wrong. Chris was still the nice gentleman kind of guy. So he made sure to make his partner for the night understand his point. Making them understand that there wasn´t any chance of him not leaving the next morning. Just after they agreed, it happened.

  
That had been the case, at least. Now he was falling for his former subordinate and best friend.

  
And Patricia wasn´t making him feel any better. She was stunningly beautiful and her personality even seemed to be bright and friendly after the first shock of two total stranger suddenly parking their trailer in her garden.  
She was looking his way again and for a moment Chris thought about the possibility of staying here like Piers had said... with Patricia. But...

  
Piers.

  
Dodging the green, wonderful eyes of Patricia, Chris sneaked a glance over to Piers and immediately was in his right mind again.

  
The puppy looked so lost, staring down at his food and poking it with a grim expression. He couldn´t do that to him. Someone had to be there for Piers...

  
That someone was gonna be him.

  
"Richard..." Just as he had made up his mind, Patricia´s sweet voice got him again. No, Chris... It´s Piers! It´ll always be Piers!  
"I wondered... tell me a little about yourself." Once again she seemed to fail at noticing Piers in the room and when Chris opened his mouth, unsure, Piers panicked.

  
"Well, I´m turning 40 next year, so... that´s something. It´s the most exciting thing, actually, since everything else about me is pretty boring." He tried to dodge the question.

  
"Not true! Ricky said you´re hunting, remember?", Alyssa laughed and Chris sighed in defeat.  
"Right. In fact, I´m pretty good with a gun. Were working with the police before." That was the best he could come up with but the moment he saw Alyssa´s frowning face, he panicked inside. Oh god, Piers, what did you tell her?!

  
"I thought you were working in a garage at STAGLA...?"

  
But before this ship could sink, Piers almost jumped up from his seat to save the situation.  
"He worked as a cop before STAGLA. In fact, he was pretty young when he did..."

  
"Y-Yeah, right." Chris´ fake smile was amazingly well faked. Worked in a garage at STAGLA, alright, he could memorize that.  
"Well... how does one come from being a cop to repairing cars?", Patricia smiled. Apparently, she liked the idea of Cop Chris...  
"Things... happened." Oh, they did... "Authorities are sometimes just a bitch. Let´s not talk about this anymore." He felt more comfortable with settling with this answer instead of 'Zombies ate all my friends.' Hopefully, they would understand that he didn´t want to discuss things further.

  
The two Hanson´s seemed to be okay with it and Patricia put a hand to her chest.  
"I am leading a construction company. We´re small but it´s enough to live. It... belonged to my deceased husband, Oliver, god may bless his soul..."

  
The atmosphere visibly changed and Alyssa sank her head while pushing the empty plate away from herself. Patricia was just silent now.

  
Did she... expect from him to ask about it? Would that be rude? Setting his empty plate a little away himself, Chris cleared his throat.  
"I´m sorry for your loss..."  
"It´s... okay.", she pressed out when it was obviously not.

  
It got quiet pretty fast after that, as everyone finished their meal. Not wanting to make this any worse, Patricia rose to her feet.

  
"Richard, would you help me with the dishes for a second?" The small 'But that´s usually my job' from Alyssa, in the background, was ignored and both adults vanished in the kitchen.Piers didn´t know how to feel about this. He felt less suffocated with Mrs. Hanson in the room and he also was pretty comfortable around Alyssa alone. But knowing that that might apply to Chris´ situation in the kitchen too...

  
"Is Richard a good father figure?" What?! The sniper whirled around to Alyssa. The eyes he met were full with hope and innocence.

  
"I may have thought... that mom seemed really fond of him." Oh, it wasn´t hard to notice. "Maybe if you and Richard stay a little longer... you could be part of the family..." She started to sound like a desperate, lonely child in search of a loving family. Maybe she was just that. After all, he didn´t know her good enough. Alone from seeing her and Patricia´s reaction to Oliver´s death just being mentioned, they were probably in a lot of grief.

  
But did she seriously just thought about Chris marrying her mother?! He wasn´t that kind of guy...  
Hell, Chris was the one who wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. There was no way...

  
"Alyssa... I appreciate you guys being so warm and accepting us immediately, but... Richard and I, we´re not gonna stay here forever." He really, really tried to deliver this carefully but Alyssa still winced and put her face in her hands. Poor girl...  
"Hey..." Reaching over, he managed to get a grip of her hand and they intertwined.

  
"The thing is... I really don´t think Richard would fall for your mother anyway... He... I think he stopped caring about this stuff a long time ago."

  
Did he? Piers didn´t know. In all these years, he never saw the Captain with a woman at his side. Earlier in the trailer, he thought he might have a chance but maybe it was, too, just the heat of the moment caused by Chris freaking out.

  
"I´m sorry, Ricky..." A small sob left her but right after, she looked up at him and besides the slightly red eyes, it was as if there was nothing wrong with the young girl.

  
"It´s just... hard thinking about mom being all alone."

  
"I know... I can understand that."

 

  
\-------

 

  
Turned out that, Patricia meant with 'Help me with the dishes' just carrying them over to the counter and awkwardly stand there while she sorted them into the dishwasher. Why she needed him to come with her doing that, he didn´t understand at first but alright.

  
The pronunciation laid on _at first_.

  
Because it didn´t take long for her to finish, close the lid and then just stand there, leaned on the counter, looking at him.  
Chris hated people staring at him. He had enough of that for a lifetime, after all the meetings he had to pull through and speeches he had to hold.

  
So it didn´t take long for him to become fidgety under her eyes and once more he started rubbing his palms against each other, subconsciously.

  
"Alright..." His voice sounded unusually nervous to which Patricia responded with a smile.  
"So, Mr. Aiken...", she exclaimed his pretended surname in a playful manner and it got Chris sick to the stomach. If Richard would know in what way he was using his name...

  
"So you are visiting our Fall-Festival tomorrow, I take it. Alyssa probably told you about it, no doubt.~"  
There had been something about a festival on Saturday, right? So tomorrow was a Saturday... 2+ weeks on the run and he had already lost all sense of time.

  
"She did, indeed. I planned not to attend it, though.", he replied dead serious. The grin fell from Patricia´s face. He almost felt sorry for the woman. But he and Piers... he still didn´t trust this village.

  
There was no place on earth Redfield would go without Nivans. And Nivans would probably not want to go to a huge ass festival with all the people being there and unpolitely staring at his evident scars all over his face.

  
"You´ve got to! Everyone will be there and it´ll give you a good start at getting to know them all." Sighing, Chris tried to hold on to the little hope, he still had, to leave soon.  
"Ricky is very sensitive about the reaction people give him about his... looks." That was a nice way of saying it. He was kind of surprised he pulled that off so gently.

  
"Ricky...? You´ll let him ruin your fun by sticking with him rather than going out?"  
Uhh... That was hitting a raw spot inside Chris would rather lock away finally. But he couldn´t.

  
"I´m not the kind of guy who considers spending time with complete strangers, fun. I would more describe it as mostly annoying. I prefer people I have a connection with. Like Ricky. So yeah, I´d rather stay with him and make him feel less lonely about the current situation. Trust is build through actions, not through words after all..."

  
Thinking back, Chris barely remembered where he had picked that line up or if he actually came up with it himself. He just knew that he liked to use it once in a while. Or used to. The last time he mentioned it, was towards Jessica... It fit his life in a way. He used to be light-hearted growing up. But ever after Wesker´s betrayal, things were different. Maybe he already died a little inside back then.

  
Patricia kept her gaze fixed on him and he could practically see her thinking hard about it.

  
"I see... Well, Richard, I hope there´s still a chance of you changing your mind. Sleep about it." The smile on her lips didn´t reach her eyes and for a moment Chris felt guilty.

  
Then, in the next second, he remembered his second in command was right next door and was probably waiting for him. It made him feel better. And for once Chris just allowed that giddy, sweet feeling deep inside to be.

  
In his life, he had made a lot of sacrifices, had put a lot of things before himself because they were more important at the time. But recently he believed he had earned to be a little selfish in a while. Ignoring Patricia´s obvious disappointment and wanting to return to Piers were apparently two of these things. Don´t always put yourself in the last place.

  
"We´ll see..."

  
He started moving and was almost at the door when Patricia spoke up again.  
Without any warning, she asked. "The scars on his face... Where do they come from?"

  
"...Accident while cooking." That was everything he could think about and so, for him, that was enough.

  
He gave her another nod and vanished as fast as they had entered the room. He walked back into the living room to Piers holding Alyssa Hanson´s hand and leaning half over her, wiping a tear off her cheek, smiling.  
You know what, fuck this. He might should have taken the girl instead after all...

  
"Pier-...Ricky." It was hard getting used to this new life and these names just made everything worse. Despite this, Piers still turned towards his former Captain with a surprised look.

  
"...Richard."

  
Immediately, the sniper let go of Alyssa´s hand and she looked up as well.

  
"..." Chris wanted to say a million things but couldn´t bring himself to. Instead, he just pressed out. "Let´s call it a day..."  
Surprisingly, no one put up any resistance, even after Patricia joined them. It wasn´t that late, maybe after 8 or something, but the two females probably felt the exhaustion that Chris carried.

  
As soon as they were back in the trailer (after declining for a hundred times the offer to sleep in the spare room) and the door fell shut after them, the air visibly changed. Both knew why and both knew that the other knew.  
They sat down at the small table as both thought it was still a little early to go to sleep but in the next second, realized they had nothing to do anyway. The small shitty TV had stopped working days ago. Reading his book, that he already finished once by the way, was not an option either, would be rude towards Chris.

  
"Hey, Chris." Trying himself at a smile, he remembered the card game they had purchased for cases like this. "We still have that card game, you know..."  
The older one just grunted and Piers could understand the reaction, a game of cards is really not the most exciting thing to do.

  
But it would have to do.

  
Chris knew how good Piers was at playing cards, another reason for his lack of interest at doing it. They had done it often enough, with Alpha together in some bar or at one of the guys homes. Except maybe Carl, because Carl was married and had kids and... well, lived three states away.

  
Piers had mastered the poker face. Even long before Chris got to know him, he was sure of it. No trace of emotion or the like, he wasn´t called Ace for no reason.

  
So it progressed into the direction Chris had assumed. He was on the road towards a horrible obvious defeat. Even if he had the feeling Piers wasn´t in his right mind half the time...  
Then, after being in the game for way too long and still not having a winner, Piers spoke up, deeply in thoughts, almost as if he wasn´t aware he was speaking out aloud.

  
"What was that earlier in the front of the trailer ?" At first, it was too quiet to hear everything and it took Chris a few seconds to rhyme it together what he said, but when he realized his eyes went wide.

  
"Can I be honest with you?" Piers´ gaze shot up and observed Chris´ expression like a lion ready to hunt down it´s prey. Chris knew that he had always been an open book to Piers. Back then, he actually didn´t mind. But now...

  
Chris knew what Piers wanted to hear and he could just go ahead and say it and that would take care of all the awkwardness and they would... be together.

  
But he couldn´t. He felt like there was too much they still didn´t talk about. The situation, the fear, it wasn´t the time.  
"I think it´s the lack of Lexapro. I tend to do weird shit if I don´t take it regularly. Was even like this before I started taking it. How else would you explain that I thought it would be a good idea to punch a boulder...?"

  
Chris´ right, injured hand twitched around the cards at it as if he could feel the pain from his memory. Piers´ eyes laid on it and Chris swore there was something he wanted to hide in his eyes. Disappointment.

  
Once again they both knew it.

  
And they both accepted that it needed more time.

  
A silent nod followed and the rest of the evening was spend with as less conversation as possible.


	9. Festival Fun

"Come on, Chris. Move."

  
It was way too early. It was way too cold. Every reason to stay inside, Chris thought.

  
But this was important. Right after Piers had woken up, he had texted Alyssa who had already left with her mother to help out with the last things that needed to be taken care of before the festival started.   
All the while, Chris had still been sleeping but apparently, there was a drug store not too far down the street that he had asked Alyssa about.

  
Now that was where they headed.

  
Piers had taken the lead, phone still in hand to re-read the direction Alyssa had send for the thousandth time. The only thing Chris could do was obey and follow him because starting an argument with Piers Nivans was a fight you couldn´t win.

  
The older one could understand why Piers was so impatient. He still couldn´t stand being outside for too long. He could feel great in the beginning, honestly, but if too much time passed, it could switch in the direct opposite. Piers seemed to have realized that as well and now pushed to get this over with as long as he still felt content with the situation.

  
Not much time passed before they stood in front of said drug store and Piers carefully tugged his phone away.  
"So, what are we even looking for? They won´t just hand out antidepressants like candy.", Chris yawned. God, he got used to this 'easy' lifestyle pretty quick, didn´t he?

  
"Sedative pills." "Sedatives?"

  
Then again, that was something you could get without a prescription. But... Chris doubted it was strong enough to calm him. Last night had been hell... He couldn´t sleep and even though he tried to keep his thrashing to a minimum, he was sure he kept Piers awake as well.

  
"Yeah. Now go.", the other one chirped and pushed the veteran inside.

  
As soon as the automatic doors shut close behind them, the cold from outside vanished and they were hit in the face by a wave of artificial bright light and the stench of meds and acid. Shelves were on either side of the white painted room and were stacked to the rim with the usual frightening stuff.

  
Marching on fast, they waited on the counter which was unattended at the moment.   
"I don´t feel comfortable here..." "Me neither." On this, they agreed. The smell was too familiar from hospital stays and such.   
But before they could waste more thoughts on it, an older woman walked over to them and took her place behind the counter.   
"How may I help?"

  
Turned out the woman was much more uninterested as she seemed at first. Barely making any conversation or asking questions, Piers had the feeling she was actually glad when both of them left with a box of yellow pills inside.

  
By now it wasn´t that extremely early anymore and Piers promised Alyssa in a text that they would return to the trailer, for now, maybe join them later on the festival... if Chris agreed.

  
"Okay, it says you shouldn´t take more than 3 in the span of 24 hours...", Piers was reading out aloud as he fumbled with the keys in his other hand and took his time unlocking it, making Chris impatiently sigh behind him.  
"Helps against sleep problems, anxiety and general uncomfort." A hum escaped the sniper as he finally opened the door and sat down on one of the chairs, unwrapping the scarf around his neck and partly his face.

  
With almost the same sound, Chris took it from his hands and fiddled the pills out, swallowing one just to sped up the process. Of course, Piers growled in disapproval but otherwise let it slide.

  
"So now, you feeling up for the festival?"

  
Chris still felt like staying here instead but Piers obviously liked the idea. And didn´t the boy already went through so much for Chris?

  
"Fine... but don´t complain at me when you don´t like it there...!"  
Piers cheered like a young boy and wrapped Chris in a strong hug, suddenly. And this, Chris thought, wasn´t so bad after all.

 

  
\----------

 

  
Once again following directions, they found their way to a big, calm river with a green open meadow next to it. Already from the distance, you could make out the little tents and booths.

  
"Welcome to Bearcreek Fall Festival!"

  
They weren´t even far in and already there was a woman on their heels with a bag full of flyers. She was about to hand them each one but caught a look of Piers´ face.

  
She was about to scream, they were sure of it but Alyssa appeared out of nowhere and saved the day. "Ricky! Richard!"  
She seemed to know the woman and just waved towards her before already taking off with the both of them, leaving her dumbstruck staring after them.

  
"That was close... That´s Mrs. Daniels. You really don´t wanna get to know her... She likes to talk trash and spread rumors all day." Alyssa sighed and dragged them towards the middle of the festival.

  
"Means she´ll want to know about... my face, right?"

  
"I don´t know. After seeing that I somehow know you guys, she might ask around..."

  
Chris couldn´t hold back a groan. Not enough that this already was dangerous, they had to encounter the lady with the loosest mouth in this village...

  
"But that´s not important right now...!" Sure it fucking was! "Mom is waiting for us at our booth. We sell sandwiches and sausages. I know it´s lame but oh well...~"

  
Chris couldn´t take his eyes off the way Alyssa held on to Piers´ hand, dragging him further through the crowd. And here he was, walking right behind them, staring and not saying a thing, keeping his mouth shut once more. But, hey, he didn´t have the right to, anyway. Not after he had fucked up yesterday, making up stupid excuses not to have to confess to the sniper.

  
He should have told him.

  
"Richard!" Once again he was the only one Patricia seemed to have eyes for when they approached the white booth somewhere in between the other attractions.

  
She waved over with grill tongs in hand and a cheesy light blue apron around her waist. In front of her was a big grill which was occupied with a man grilling a pair of sausages on it. He was in the same ridiculous outfit like Patricia so he probably was working with her.

  
As soon as they stood in front of their little 'tent ', his eyes rose up too, probably in expectations of them being customers but he averted his gaze quickly after he realized Alyssa was with them and Patricia talked to them like old friends.

  
"Good to see you, after all...!"

  
"Ricky forced me in the end." An awkward chuckle came from the sniper and for the first time Patricia seemed to acknowledge him and smiled warmly.

  
"If I´m allowed to introduce, that´s Tony, a friend of the family. He was working for... Oliver back in the day." This time it seemed to be easier for Patricia to speak about it, maybe it was just the good mood of the festival too.   
Tony looked up. He was a bulky kind of guy, someone who probably didn´t have any trouble tiling a roof. Which made the apron just look all the more strange on him. A prominent beard covered his face. Even in Chris´ state of... unregular care he took of his stubble in the past time, he still was no match for Tony. Strong contrast to this was his bald head.

  
His features were stocky and his whole face looked kinda compact, making it hard to look into his small slits of eyes under thick eyebrows.

  
"Pleasure.", he grunted out but not in a rude way, more in a this-is-my-voice-you´ll-have-to-deal-with-it way.   
Chris just nodded towards him and the other man actually joined them, after he put the finished sausages on a cardboard plate and gave it to a man which had been standing at the edge of the booth since their arrival.

  
"So, Tricia talked about you. Coming into Bearcreek from seemingly nowhere and now you stay with your trailer in her garden. Pretty mysterious if you ask me..." It was hard to tell if he was actually being suspicious or just joking, his face never showing any expression.

  
"Yeah, it's... kind of crazy." Chris chuckled with a hand behind his head.

  
"Whatever, man. I´m not one to judge, just don´t make her regret this decision. Or I make you regret it."   
For a moment, Chris thought about snorting but knew better than to do it. Even if this man was maybe even a little bigger than he was, Chris had his techniques. He had no doubt how a fight between the two would play out.

  
"Don´t worry, that won´t be necessary."

  
A grunt followed and Patricia got rid of her apron.

  
"Hey, Tony. Would you mind running the booth alone for, let´s say, 20? There are some things I´d like to show our new arrivals."

  
"´S fine, Tricia."

  
Excusing herself to get her purse from the car, Alyssa went with her for the same reason. Now they stood here with this rock of a man and no customers were coming, they were alone.

  
"So, kid. Your face looks pretty beat up."

  
Maybe Piers shouldn´t have left his shemagh in the trailer after all. You could still see traces even if he wore it, but right now it was exposed for everyone to see, in plain daylight. And now, Tony already being the second person to react to it, he was getting more and more self-conscious.

  
Did these people got taught any shame growing up, asking people so rudely about their appearance?!

  
"Explosion at a gas station-"  
"Accident while cooking-"

  
Both of the soldiers looked at each other in plain shock after they answered at the same time.

  
A deadly silence fell over them and Tony´s already small eyes squinted even further together.

  
"Just... what exactly are you guys hiding...?" His voice was menacing and Chris had never been so happy to see Patricia again as she came to stand next to him.

  
"Alright, let´s go!"

  
"But Tricia...!" Tony started obviously trying to blow Chris and Piers´ cover and Chris could already smell the burning torches and forks that would chase him and Piers out of this village. Reminded him a lot of the report he had once been reading from Leon. Not that he should waste his thoughts on this now.

  
"Sorry, Tony. I´ll be back in a bit, then I´ll help you out again. You should be able to handle these few hungry mouths.", she smiled warmly and snaked her arm around Chris´, linking them together.

  
This time Piers was at least not the only one who gave an irritated growl at the sight. Tony seemed displeased too.   
The next moment he already felt Alyssa doing the same with him. Goddamn these girls!

  
It was awkward. It was bad. In short, it was everything Piers didn´t imagine it would be like to have a pretty girl at his side and wandering with her over a festival.

  
Alyssa was way too excited and constantly giggled in his ear so loud he couldn´t stand the sound anymore. She grabbed his arm too tight and he could swear his blood didn´t reach his fingers anymore.

  
It was his bad arm.

  
But the few days he knew this girl, he had never worn short sleeved shirts in front of her, so she couldn´t know how sensitive the raw skin there was. She rubbed through the fabric of his jacket and inwardly Piers wanted to scream every time she did.   
Chris in front of him didn´t have it any better from what he could see.

  
Patricia leaned onto him now, too short to even reach up to his shoulder. Instead, she just leaned her head against his arm she was linked with.

  
Chris was facing away from her, obviously not wanting to make eye contact or anything. For a small second, Chris looked over his shoulder and their eyes met with Chris just offering an apologizing smile. Piers couldn´t help but chuckle at the image.

  
"Here we are.~" They stopped in front of a booth in tactical green. It was decorated with fir branches and the antlers of a deer.  
"You said you like to hunt, Richard. That´s the booth of the shooting club."

  
"Ah... thanks..." Piers behind him tried to shuffle as close as Alyssa´s weight on his right would allow it.

Piers behind him tried to shuffle as close as Alyssa´s weight on his right would allow it.   
The younger one liked the choice of the color green they had used, of course. But apart from that, this felt unfamiliar.   
Coming from the middle of nowhere, his father had hunted back in the day, when Piers had been still young. But he became too invested into his job in the military, leading to him not having time for it anymore... or for his family.

  
The booth was run by two men, clothed in dirty, checkered shirts. Their overall appearance was pretty battered, started by the torn jeans to their rugged old caps they were wearing.

  
In bold letters, the words "Bearcreek Hunting" were printed on them.

  
"Hey, mate!", they greeted lazily.

  
Chris didn´t bring out the words and he would much rather leave now but it was too late. Patricia patted his back and stepped closer to the booth.

  
"Good evening, gentleman~. I was wondering if you could give my friend here some information about the shooting club? He thinks about joining."

  
Brown eyes snapped open in surprise. He never said that!

  
"Sure thing, miss.", the first started and immediately the other took over, turning over to Chris.  
"Our shootin´ club is a place where the people of Bearcreek can come together to regain some thrill in their lives. We attend tournaments all throughout Wyoming. But of course, much more often we found each other on the local shooting range or the woods.

  
All members are requested to attend the meetings in the city hall once a month where we talk about things. And of course, when the hunting season begins-"

  
All this time he just stood, monotonically running down all these facts he probably told from memory.   
But Chris wasn´t even interested! Standing there, grinning like an idiot, he could feel Patricia´s gaze on him. He had to pull through this.

  
After his drowsy monolog, he handed Chris a flyer and Redfield made sure to put up a smile when he said he´d think about it.

  
At first, the two man didn´t really want to let him go, maybe smelling the talent behind this man. So after some more minutes wasted with discussion, Chris found himself in front of a small makeshift shooting range. A pathetic target drawn on a piece of paper and glued to a hay bale.

  
It wasn´t much distance between him and the target but the next moment, a normal handgun was passed to him and he quickly shut his big mouth. Handguns weren´t made for accuracy shots.

  
This could prove to be difficult. For any other person.

  
A handgun was like a default setting for Chris. He could land any shot with this. The weight in his hands felt familiar like the scent of Claire or any other thing he had in his blood. It was like a part of him and somehow he had craved this feeling after more than two weeks.

  
It was weird. Guns meant death for other people but for him, it had always been the one thing that kept him alive, gave him some sense of security.

  
Taking a deep breath, he looked down the lane and lined up his shot...

  
Neither less to say, he wrapped this whole event up in merely seconds. Having three bullets and hitting bull´s eye three times. The recoil was something that he had to get used to again. But his muscle memory was good enough that he still landed his shots perfectly.

  
First, no one said a word. Then cheering erupted behind him, he could make out Piers´ voice at first. Then Patricia and Alyssa.   
The two men never really congratulated him, not in a normal way anyway. More like bugging him without end to join.   
It hurt him to break their hopes. Not really.

  
Seeing that they didn´t have a chance talking to him, they started an attempt at coaxing in Patricia, seriously thinking that she was his wife or what?

  
She seemed to enjoy being confused with his domestic partner and laughed while trying to explain to the two hunter, that Chris himself had to make that decision. Alyssa walked over to her mother now too, joining the conversation by saying things like 'Maybe Ricky can try' and 'I´m sure he can shoot too'. But the argument never seemed to stop and Chris and Piers stood in the background, slowly looking at each other.

  
"They will probably keep on arguing for a while...", Piers mumbled and shifted from one foot to the other.

  
"You wanna bail?" Piers certainly didn´t expect from Chris that he suggested they just leave. But rubbing over his sore arm through the fabric of the jacket, Piers suppressed a hiss and found that he wouldn´t mind and nodded.

  
Luckily the crowd was fast to swallow the booth and the people in front of it as they carefully sneaked away and started to explore the festival by themselves.

  
There was more to see when they had thought in the beginning.

  
And god, Piers seemed to love it here. It was so good for a change to see these hazel eyes sparkle from excitement, not anger. People still stopped sometimes next to them to catch a glimpse of Piers´ scarred face but there were too many attractions so Piers barely noticed.

  
And seeing Piers happy, made Chris happy in return. After all these long days on the run and the stress and the fear of being caught, Chris felt like a burden slipped off his shoulders just looking at Piers´ carefreeness.

  
"Look, Chris, they have fucking bumper cars!" The statement could have come from a little kid with the happiness in the voice, well, except the 'fucking' part.

  
Once again, Chris felt like he did all these things with Piers that his father was once supposed to do with him.   
But he found himself not minding it one bit.

  
"Bumper cars, Piers?", he laughed but stopped when he saw that adorable pout making it´s way on Piers´ lips.  
"Don´t judge, okay? I liked them as a kid...!"

  
"So...", Chris sighed contently as they walked over to the place in question and leaned on the railing around the noisy and constantly crashing cars, "you wanna go for it?"

  
Chris could feel his protege join him on the railing, for a small second sighing defeated. Looking around them, all Chris could see were parents and maybe teenagers and he knew what bugged Piers.

  
"Way too old for that." His hand moved on it´s own accord and first, he thought about stopping before it was too late but his arm had already snaked itself around Piers´ waist and pulled him close.

  
"If I´m not too old to ride a freaking panda springer in the middle of a chinese playground, then you can take a ride on a fucking bumper car...~"  
In this moment, he couldn´t care less what the people thought as he leaned closer into Piers´ face and a shade of red started to cover the sniper´s cheeks.

  
"I´d even accompany you. Think about how the people wouldn´t even recognize you, seeing this old fart." He felt confident. Maybe it was the good mood after going through so much hiding bullshit. Maybe it really were the pills helping some.

  
But he felt like his old self in this moment. Like Chris Redfield that killed the number one bioterrorist, Albert Wesker. The Chris Redfield that brought an evil company down. The Chris Redfield that could take on the world and every monster in it.   
And the Chris Redfield that thought it wouldn´t even take so much or be a big deal if he would just press his lips to Piers´ right here, right now.

  
"I... I´m not sure, but... if you would come too..."

  
The sniper didn´t squirm away or wiggled uncomfortably. He held still, even put his hand on Chris´ arm for some stability. It was as if they had done it a thousand times before, as if that was exactly how it was meant to be.

  
"So let´s try it."

  
Chris refused to let go and even though Piers didn´t seem to mind, it caused them to awkwardly stagger over to the ticket booth. Actually having to release Piers to pay for the tickets, walking over to the cars was much easier.

  
But in contrary to Alyssa clinging onto his arm, Piers didn´t mind Chris so close. He knew about the scars and the skin problems and knew better than to put pressure onto them. His touches were gentle and careful as if he had mapped out every single scar that covered his right side.

  
Maybe he did. After all, Piers had a deep sleep. The thought threatened a giggle to come over his lips.

  
Without any hesitation, both of them chose the green car and entered a little awkwardly dodging all the eyes of the audience. Obviously, the car was designed for kids, not grown soldiers which forced them to inch closer.

  
Both honestly didn't mind and got comfortable leaning on each other like a loving couple. Naturally, Piers took a tight grip on the wheel.

  
“Watch me, Chris. I'm the best driver the BSAA ever had!”, he chuckled as the memory of the time they chased Carla down the street entered his mind.

  
“I'll never take my eyes off you….” Every time that blush crept up in Piers’ face, like right now, Chris just wanted to reach out and touch him.

  
With a strong thrust, the plastic vehicle roared to life and it got Piers startled, making him let go of the wheel, reaching over and taking Chris’ hand in his.

  
“Don't worry, babe, I'm here…” A thumb started rubbing the back of his hand and Piers almost didn't catch the nickname but then he did, a major blush appeared around his cheeks. Did Chris just call him 'babe'?! Or was he already starting to hear things?! Piers couldn't find the courage to look up so he just snorted, unsure.

  
“I know..”

  
The younger one couldn't find the heart to let go of his partner's hand, their fingers long have intertwined in each other. Driving with one hand, especially on a bumper car ride was a bitch, you could imagine.

  
But he did not care. He had a good excuse, whenever one of these bratty kids would ram them, he pretended to be surprised and cuddled closer to his superior.

  
Maybe this was being incredibly desperate. But once again: He didn't care. And Chris didn't seem to mind either, no, even leaning in closer here and there.

  
“You're doing just fine, pup.”

  
He wasn't. He was driving like an invalid. On purpose. And the funny part was that Chris knew but still decided to play his part.

  
The flashing lights and the artificial smoke coming from the ceiling, made Piers feel weirdly intoxicated. Having Chris so close was spicing it up a big deal.

  
If he was honest with himself the thought of just kissing the taller man crossed his mind a dozen times in the quarter hour they were pressed so closely together in this way too small bumper.  
But the time went up before he could bring himself to do so.

  
And his chance passed by.

  
“What do you wanna do next?” Piers´ legs still felt wobbly and he had troubles understanding Chris with the loud ringing in his ears caused by the obnoxious music on the ride.

  
“Dunno... Eating something.” The smell in this area of the festival was mouth-watering, he had noticed earlier already.  
“Sure thing, I'll treat you.”, Chris grinned jokingly and the awaited response didn't take long to come.

  
“We’re living off your money anyway…” Sure they were. But it still was nice to see that the remark got Piers flushed again.


	10. So It´s A Date?

They found a lot of interesting and delicious looking things. But in the end, they settled for some plain old-fashioned fast food. Some bar tables were placed around the little restaurant stall which they took place on after both had ordered.

  
"You know, once you get actually some room to breathe, this festival isn´t half bad."

  
"I know what you mean.", Chris answered promptly, staring down at his burger.

  
Patricia and Alyssa weren´t bad people, hell. Chris had to admit he even started liking the girls. Just that they were hitting on the both of them like crazy was a problem.  
"...They don´t mean it like that...", Piers whispered and Chris could just agree with a nod. Of course, they didn´t, but it still was... irritating.

  
Chris couldn´t fight the sigh all the way that came out as he reached for his food and took a big bite of it, he hadn´t even realized how hungry he had been until now. The last time he had eaten was this morning before they had gone outside.  
Piers, opposite to him, did the same and Chris made the mistake to look over to the younger one.

  
"..."

  
Chris should have seen it coming as he stood next to him and the sniper had ordered a hot dog. But he didn´t think of all the possibilities his brain came up with if he would catch a glimpse of it.  
Plump lips wrapped around the sausage and goddammit, Chris wasn´t a teenager anymore, he shouldn´t think about it too deeply. But he was unable to avert his gaze, it was too mesmerizing.

  
The sniper kept his eyes closed and little sounds of pleasure escaped his lips from the taste. Okay, which man would not flip his shit watching this?!

  
After the first bite, some of the mayo ran down the sides of the hot dog and Chris´ eyes slightly squinted, still observing, still watching, as Piers went ahead and licked it off.  
Get a grip, Redfield! He let go of a snort and somehow got the feeling that maybe Piers was doing this on purpose like he had done in the bumper car. This boy was something...

  
Hazel eyes slipped open from underneath hooded lids and laid themselves straight up on Chris.

  
"That´s... a lot of topping." His voice wasn´t betraying anything as he eyed the food in his hand. Somehow he could even make that sound like an innuendo.

  
"Seems like it..." Chris´ voice, on the other hand, was thin and he could see the smile form on the other´s lips as he heard it. The veteran couldn´t believe as he went ahead and once again licked off some of the mayo in the middle that threatened to slip off as well. Right before extending his hand to Chris with the object of interest in it.

  
"You want some...?" Before he could think about the question his body had already made the decision to violently shake his head and raise his burger as a sign.

  
"...No need..." How bold can this kid still get? He had extended the side which he hadn´t have in his mouth but still! No doubt anymore that Piers knew and enjoyed what he was doing.  
"Alright. Just know that the offer still stands... 'Captain'."

  
That had hit something in Chris and his eyes searched for his young face in surprise. Piers didn´t call him Captain anymore. Or really rarely. It just wasn´t needed anymore and threatened their cover. Hearing it again, especially in that way, did something to Chris and he cleared his throat. Just how much power did Piers have over him to make him feel like this with just sucking on a piece of fast food and calling him by his old rank?!

  
"Maybe I´ll get back to it... one day...", was his comeback and the awkward chuckle Piers uttered told him that he didn´t think that Chris would hit him back with his own act.

  
Well played...

  
Piers blushed but shut up now and continued to eat his hot dog and, even though it was hard, Chris decided it would be for the better if he, too, stopped ogling Piers while eating. That was really rude anyway... Yeah, that was the reason, not that he feared for a fucking hard on in the middle of a crowded festival.

  
Before long the awkwardness disappeared along with their orders.

  
"I still feel like dessert..." Piers Nivans was a black hole when it came to food so Chris was little surprised. Not that he himself was any better.

  
"Okay, so what exactly do you feel like?" Getting up and seeing Piers do the same, they let their eyes flow over the scenery around them and walked a few meters. Good for them they already were in the area with the most food and spotted a stand with pastries rather fast.

  
Chris knew Piers could also be a sweet tooth at times and having him stand here, before the booth grinning, once again proved just that.

  
In the end, Chris got himself half a dozen donuts (they´re donuts, okay?) and Piers was satisfied with a cinnamon roll, after rejecting the cotton candy Chris had offered him with the statement that he had already 'appeared enough as a kid already' on this day. In addition to that, they packed a few cronuts for later on.

  
By now the sun was slowly coming closer to the horizon and bathed everything in an orange, yellow light which fitted the autumn theme of this place really well.

  
And that´s when Piers saw it. A stuffed bear with the cutest, gray scarf around its neck and clothed in a red pullover. It just hang there with a big sign saying 'main price' on the side of a big shooting gallery.  
"Look, Chris. It´s you!" He wanted it. He would get it somehow.

  
And Chris knew so too. That´s why it didn´t take him another second before he started heading over to the booth in determination. Piers was surprised but caught up to him as soon as the older one stood right there, in front of it.

  
"Are you...?"

  
"I´ll get it for you, if that´s what you want, Piers." Not one of them wasted a thought on the fact that Piers could probably just do it himself anyways.

  
"...Thanks...", he just pressed out with a light blush but a wide grin.  
Chris just nodded back with the same ridiculously happy expression before he started to talk with the young man behind the counter and a rifle was handed to him.

  
Chris wasn´t stupid. He could shoot like a god with a normal gun. But he had also tried to shoot stuff in booths like this for Claire when they were younger and together on markets like this. These guns were manipulated most of the times.  
After all, the guys running this weren´t stupid either.

  
Chris would just have to go with his gut. The weight in his hands felt weirdly light compared to the weapons he usually held with these proportions. But this wasn´t a normal gun to kill anyone, he had to remind himself. Of course, this one was light.  
And it felt off. Hesitating, he looked down through the scope, then lightly above it. The shaft was a little crooked. Manipulated, like he had thought.

  
Taking a deep breath, he held it in and lined up his shot with his previous gained information in mind.

  
He had pulled off shots under worse conditions, after all, he was Chris Redfield. The legend of the BSAA. Well, had been...  
He would have no troubles making this work. But the unfamiliarity of the gun, of the situation, the long time he had been going without a gun and Piers´ watching eyes (that had never made him nervous before!) were pressing down hard on him and he messed up the first shot, missing the perfect middle by a few centimeters.

  
Piers next to him gasped out in surprise even if he covered his mouth with his hands fast, in hope Chris wouldn´t have heard it. But he did.

  
"Nice shot, man! Not perfect but you´re still having a chance!"

  
The blonde man seemed impressed though. Apparently, he rarely saw people with such good shots here. Well, if I would give him a faked gun to shoot with, I´d probably be too, Chris thought with a grunt and raised the gun one more time.  
The second shot... a bull´s eye. He had gotten used to the circumstances now, his brain calculating all the factors he had first to experience from the first shot. Chris didn´t take the gun down or waited for anyone to say something, no, he just went straight ahead and fired the third shot that followed the one before, in the perfect middle.

  
"Damn, man! You rocking that thing!"

  
There was a relieved expression on the man´s face when Chris had given him the rifle back. He wasn´t sure why, maybe his good shooting had frightened him a bit. How well he could shoot with that and that the thing was out of his dangerous hands.  
A beanie was pulled deeper into to slightly stubbled face and a grin decorated his features.

  
"Alright!~ Looks like that´s the main price, man! Take that shit and give it your wife or somethin´."

  
The stuffed bear was retrieved from the ceiling with a hook and as he finally had it in his arms, Chris didn´t waste a second before offering it to Piers with a loving 'For you...', no matter how weird the look on the face of the blondie was.

  
“T-Thank you…”

  
The little puppy was too cute for words. Chris couldn't find them but also didn't wanna stop figuring them out.

  
Cute.

  
Beautiful,

  
but still deadly.

  
Slowly, they brought some distance between themselves and the booth hence to the weird glances they received from the guy behind the counter.

  
So now they were just sneaking around the area, the disappearing sun causing it to get so dark so fast.  
“You look cute holding it…” Was that weird? Probably not any weirder than the things Piers had done today.

  
“Heh… Appreciate it, 'babe'.” Obviously, it was just a hint towards Chris´ comment earlier but it still sent those goddamn, cheesy butterflies to his stomach. If Piers could just call him that every time…

  
“A ferris wheel?” He was whipped out of his thoughts when Piers spoke up next.

  
And indeed it stood there, covered in all possible colored lights that got all the brighter and mesmerizing the darker it got. Its slow pace made the ride look relaxing as hell.

  
“You like ferris wheels?” Chris himself wasn't really fond of them. The last time he had been on one, it had been with his best friend from high school. The guy had been a dick and kept leaning dangerously far over the railing. And he had been swinging around with his whole weight, giving even Chris, with nerves made of steel, fear for his life, that's how bad their capsule had been tilting.

  
“Hmm. They aren’t that special but they aren’t bad either, I guess.”, Piers shrugged and pressed the stuffed bear closer to his chest.

  
Chris liked the way he did it. In a way, it made him feel like Piers belonged to him. Since he gave it to him. The thought was wide stretched and didn't exactly made sense, he knew.

  
“I still have a little change from the money I brought with us. It would be enough for the ferris wheel.” It would make for a good end of a beautiful day.

  
“Yeah, let's..” Piers smiled lightly after a moment of hesitation. “But after that, we should bring this to an end. It's gotten dark and cold…” He was speaking the truth, Chris had to admit. It was getting incredibly cold, so much in fact that the veteran could make out the white, little puffs leaving Piers´ mouth when he spoke.

  
And Piers had always hated the cold. Whenever a mission would be somewhere closer north, the sniper had come with them, of course, but not without whining and bitching. Edonia had been especially bad the first day they arrived.

  
Chris forced himself not to think of the country and the events that unfolded there that still haunted them to this day.  
And it worked easier than he thought it would which relieved him heavily. The pills had to be doing their Job after all.

  
An uncharacteristic gasp escaped him the moment Piers´ warm fingers wrapped around his cold palm and took a firm grip of his hand. God, he really felt like a giddy teenager all over again. Chocolate brown met hazel orbs and the sweetest smile, he ever saw on the younger one, was on his lips.

  
“Come on now, you don't get any younger…~”

  
“Got it, kid!” It was this dynamic flow he loved about their relationship. Even the worst teasing still felt loving and easy. This boy was everything he ever was looking for before…!

  
The both of them waited in the line that thankfully wasn't that long like some they had seen at the other stands. Not that many seemed to enjoy the ferris wheel after all.

  
It was a little awkward since neither of them let go of the other one´s hand and there were literally people pressing from the front and back, that's how crowded it was. And a lot of people meant all the more eyes to stare down at their intertwined hands.

  
You’d think people would mind their own business these days but maybe it was too much to ask from a small village like Bearcreek. And the way Chris had been letting things go, he certainly had the potential to look like he could be Piers’ father. He really should start taking care of his appearance again. Just that it was hard living in a goddamn trailer for crying out loud.  
Piers had it easy, he hardly grew a beard. The only thing the younger soldier had to look out for, was that they didn't run out of hair gel.

  
Distracting himself a little with his thoughts, the line seemed to move fast enough and soon it was their turn.  
Chris had to admit that his legs trembled slightly even against his will. Unbelievable, 20 years of bioterror and an old, rusty ferris wheel got him shivering.

  
Then again maybe that was the issue, it looked old and rusty.

  
Pushing past the dude who let them in after the exchange of money and sitting down, they faced the same problem like before. The capsule was designed for two grown people, yes, but it still was a tight fit.

  
Somehow they made it work and now sat there awkwardly facing each other while Chris´ thighs started to burn rather soon from the effort he kept up to hold them sideways to not brush against Piers´ legs.

  
The ferris wheel turned back into motion with a thrust but this time Piers didn´t have Chris to hold onto so he cuddled into the teddy bear in his arms and gave a long sigh.

  
Piers still got startled from loud noise and sudden movements. It started ever since he woke up...

  
_"He´s now awake.", the man in front of him, clothed in a white lab coat, didn´t have to say much more before Chris stormed away. Sure, he probably was about to, probably with a lot of things Chris should listen to because they were important but he couldn´t._

  
_Right after the catastrophe that represented the China mission, divers were sent in. But not because of Piers, no. HQ couldn´t care less about one lost soldier. It was for the sake of the greater good. They weren´t prepared to take more risks of some virus leaking into the ocean or a second HAOS or whatever fucked up things Carla could have come up with._

  
_Chris had begged, threatened that they should keep an eye out for Piers but they barely listened. The more relieved he had been then they actually brought something back to the surface. A cocoon. Chris knew these. Chrysalids, the exact same mutation Finn, and the others had shown._

  
_Bringing it back to base, the scientists had started research on it right away. At first, Chris was indifferent about the treatment to this... thing until they forcefully broke it open and a body was revealed. Piers´ body._

  
_From there on out, Chris had tried everything to get a chance to just see him. But he was denied. Every little attempt. Knowing him alive, as they had said, was a good thing. Not so much being aware that they could do to him whatever they wanted to._  
_But what would have been there to see him for? He got reports for a month straight of Piers just sleeping, not waking up. After the first days, the sniper had recovered the ability to breathe on his own, but the only way he didn´t starve was a small plastic tube down his throat..._

  
_It had been so painful to know... to know what condition Piers was in because of him._

  
_A lot of operations were performed while he was out cold. A lot of Jake´s blood used in him. They managed to recreate his arm for the most part. At least the form, not the color or feel of the skin._

  
_That was a time they still valued his life. Thought they saved him. Later on, when he was awake and the virsus´ power still proved to be there in the form of electricity, plans were changed fast..._

  
_He was sprinting down the halls now, bumping into people on his way here and there and mumbling incoherent apologies._  
_He heard the shouts and complaints from them and somewhere in between the running steps of the scientist behind him but it all hardly mattered. After a few more painfully long seconds, he stood in front of the door he was never granted access to until now._

  
_Pulling down the handle with all his might, he pushed the door open so hard it collided with the wall next to it._  
_Two big, hazel eyes set on him in an instant and they looked as if the owner was suffering a heart attack right now._

  
_It was Piers. He looked like Piers, just the right half of his face... was covered in angry red flesh. Chris wasn´t as stupid to think Piers would walk away from this without any scars but this was harsh and felt like a punch in the gut._

  
_"Piers..." Chris slowly started to pick up his pace again after standing there like an idiot for several moments and ignored the rambling from the doctor who just now caught up with the captain._  
_His feet carried him closer to the hospital bed and the closer he came, the more did Piers turn away. As if he couldn´t handle his eyes on him._

  
_He didn´t say anything and the atmosphere in here was as cold as winter._

  
_"Hey..." Once again he tried but to no avail._

  
_"Mr. Redfield, Nivans needs more rest. You can´t just burst in here, for christ´s sake." He barely registered him, not even as a clipboard was waved in front of his face to forcefully break eye contact towards the younger one. "If you would please leave the patient´s room now, so we can talk about his current condition. Outside."_

  
_When the doctor started pushing him outside the room, Chris gave up on it. Usually, the smaller man in front of him wouldn´t have a chance to move a man like Chris just a meter. But Chris let him as they staggered towards the door. He tried to catch one last glance at his lieutenant but said person had turned towards the window now to not have to see. It gave Chris all the more view of his hideous marks. And it was all Chris´ fault after all._

  
_"Captain Redfield, I am afraid to tell you that, even after all the effort we put into it, there are still remains of the virus in his blood. He might never be normal again. As of now, I´m unable to explain in which sense. It might influence his character and psyche."_

  
_He went on and showed him some graphs and texts on his clipboard, things Chris barely was able to pick up what they meant._  
_"You cannot see him. Under any circumstances for now. He´s a threat. And he will be dealt with accordingly hence all the security and rules. And you will follow the instructions you are given. If not, I have the privilege to extend the time you will not be able to see him a great deal."_

  
_Chris hated authorities. He hated all the people who thought they could get in between Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans. Cause there was nothing on this planet that could._

  
_But for now, if he still hoped to see his former ATL, he would have to sit tight and play good, little soldier._

  
_"Copy that..."_

  
"Chris...?"

  
He had hoped the flashbacks would stop with his new medication. Apparently, these things weren´t the best, like they thought.

  
Slowly, as if he still wanted to stay a little in the past, his head and eye level raised and the same pair of hazel orbs met his. They looked more lively now than in his memory.  
That was a good sign.

  
He, in return, didn´t make such a good display, according to Piers´ worried expression.  
"You okay there? You kinda zoned out..." He seemed to hear this quite often in the last time.

  
"Yeah, don´t worry. Not going through an episode or anything. Just ...thought about a few things." Chris himself didn´t know if this was the truth or a lie. Maybe a mix of both.

  
Their gazes still laid on each other until Chris realized that it was pitch black night by now and the ferris wheel had come to its first stop at the end of the first quarter.

  
_Tap Tap_

  
A slight, almost not recognizable drizzling sound started to come from above and resounded over their heads on the little roof every capsule had.  
It had begun to rain.

 

  
Not too late after the realization, the ferris wheel started turning again, slowly.  
Chris looked over to his partner who started to huddle closer to his new gift once more. Maybe it was the rain, Chris thought. As long as it wasn´t too bad, but if it ever were to start pouring really bad, well... he knew why the other would freak. Because it was still water that he had no control over.

  
It was the reason Piers would do just fine in the shower or while taking a bath, because he had control. Once it slipped from him...

  
"Hey, puppy." Chris rarely used that nickname for Piers. After all, it was established from Jake, that should be explanation enough. Piers hated it. And like predicted, he got a pretty strong reaction.

  
"Not you too, Chris. Stop that shit!" But it did succeed in taking his mind off the weather.  
"Just wanted to point out once more that you´re looking really good tonight."

  
Immediately, that statement got the other to shut up and give him this look again. The one with slightly blushed cheeks and the way his whole face just screamed that he had no idea what to do.

  
Maybe Chris was taking it a bit far today. "Like I mean, you look like you´re enjoying yourself." Yeah, GG, Redfield. Good save... He almost wanted to roll his eyes at his own remark.

  
"..." But Piers didn´t seem to play along, nothing at his expression changed. He sat there in front of him, holding that stuffed animal tight in his lap, observing Chris like the trained sniper he was with big eyes and red tone of color on his face. Then, slowly, it changed, giving way for a wide grin.

  
But, to be honest, Chris had already come a long way.  
Yesterday he had practically sat on the other´s lap and almost made out with him.

  
So... what stopped him now? Didn´t he already curse himself for denying his feelings earlier?

  
Piers shifted closer, still grinning like this was one of the easiest things in the world as he slid to the edge of his seat towards Chris so their legs were now touching, knees bumping together. The bear was quickly discarded on the bench next to Piers before both his hands reached out for Chris and the ferris wheel decided that that moment was just right to stop the ride at the highest point, revealing the breathtaking view over Bearcreek and the woods surrounding it. Everything about this moment was beautiful, perfect.

  
"Chris, come here. I can make you enjoy yourself too..." And he´d take his chance finally, that was for sure.  
Meeting him halfway, he felt Piers´ arms encircling his neck and goddamn, it felt so good to have a warm body in his arms again for a change. It´s been so long since he last felt like this. He wrapped his arms, in return, around the other´s waist and so led the both of them pressing closer to the other.

  
Their mouths were barely inches apart and their white, warm breath in the cold air mingled.

  
"..." He should go for it. Just make it happen. But instead of doing this, Chris once again seemed to drown in these honey, hazel colored pools and Piers gave him a smile.

  
"It´s fine, old bear..."

  
Having Piers´ permission, nothing would stop him anymore as he leaned forwards-

  
A sudden thunder strike lit up the place for a second as if a nuclear bomb exploded somewhere, together with the same background sound.

  
"Ah...!" The man in his arms, he was just about to kiss after so long, jumped up in a panic so that Chris had trouble holding onto him.

  
No, this couldn´t have happened... Why now?! His desperation reached its peak as the body in front of him started trembling in shock and when he tried to look at his face again, pressed it in the crook of his neck so he wouldn´t see. And he actually started to weep and sob.

  
God, don´t let this happen!

  
"Piers... it was just thunder..."

  
"I know! I fucking know!" The volume of his voice, that Chris didn´t hear so loud in quiet a while, got a little muffled due to Piers cuddling into his neck. Chris had to admit, he liked the breath of Piers on his bare skin. Just why did this have to happen now?!

  
He restrained himself from talking further and instead proceeded to rub the other´s back in a calming manner and it worked somehow. By the time they reached the end of the ride, Piers had calmed down totally, with just a little red left in his eyes. 

They both didn´t talk about the events on the ferris wheel ever again.

  
Somehow they made it back home in the drizzling rain after that. Piers had sent just a quick text to Alyssa, saying sorry but they got lost on the festival and would go to sleep now. She just responded with a smiley.


	11. To Reminisce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time Chris meets an old face again. Even if he doesn´t know/recognize him right away.   
> I don´t wanna spoil anyone but I think I´m safe with saying that I just love that character so much and against all odds, just wanted him in here. So there he is!~
> 
> Have a lovely easter all of you, out there~ :3

_2 weeks later_

 

His feet barely made a sound as he sneaked through the woods, dodging all the branches and other sources of sound he could spot on the muddy ground. He knew what he was doing, if there was one thing in this world he knew how to pull off, it was staying out of sight and making the enemy believe he wasn´t there.

  
It had always been an ability he needed to survive.

  
Now he himself used it to kill. If he was honest he felt conflicted about it, not entirely sure. There was no point in killing if it wasn´t necessary. Not for entertainment. It felt plain wrong to him.

  
Neither the less, he raised his rifle in a swift but still silent movement, pressed it against his shoulder for stability as he spotted his target and aimed.

  
There, hidden behind bushes and trees, stood a single deer, chewing grass. Why was it alone? Didn´t they stay together? He didn´t really had the answers. There had been other things in his life he had to put up with besides wildlife.

  
Taking in a deep breath and holding it calmly, he focused in on the head of the animal. It was like muscle memory. His thumb trembled over the trigger. It would be so easy. He would just have to press it and the poor thing would be dead in the split of a second without even knowing what hit it.

  
But there was something keeping him back, he couldn´t.

  
Making up his mind, he promptly aimed next to the little animal and pulled the trigger fast. The bullet collided with the ground next to the head of the deer and with fear for its life, it jumped away, running as fast as it could, realizing how close it was to dying.

  
In the next second, it was already gone.

  
"Damn, Aiken. That would have been perfect!"

  
Dave Blair, his new 'friend' you could say, appeared right next to him and put a hand above his eyes as if it would allow him to see further after the deer.

  
"Yeah, well, I messed up...", Chris shrugged and hung the gun back over his shoulder.   
He couldn´t believe he joined the shooting club after all. Patricia made him do it. In general, it felt more and more as if they were aiming for a domestic life in Bearcreek now.

  
He didn´t know how he should feel about it...

  
Piers and Chris were allowed to sleep in the house now constantly even if it was in the guest room (which got the both of them sleeping in one bed once more), they met people who knew the Hanson´s and now them. And the biggest change... Patricia had given Chris a job in her construction company. It wasn´t much but it was something. She had looked at him weird when he had requested her to give him the money in cash after a job well done. Of course, he couldn´t have told her that his bank account got shut down the last time he had looked after it. So the BSAA were after them like they had feared...

  
Apart from that, everything was going smoothly.

  
"But there is enough deer in these woods, believe me...", Dave shrugged as he himself pushed his gun into place as well before patting Chris´ shoulder as if he wanted to cheer him up.

  
He got to know the guy pretty fast, seeing that he was really into the club and hunting. He was on every meeting Chris had forced himself to visit and on every hunting trip. Damn, he was basically running this thing alone.

  
Today he had ringed him up and had asked to go hunting alone in privacy, just the two of them, which was rather strange.   
But Piers had been outside with Alyssa and he had nothing better to do. Even if he kind of didn´t like the idea of Alyssa and Piers alone, they had a talk about this and promised each other they wouldn´t get together with the girls and keep it on a friendship level, so he trusted his partner.

  
But he forgot the big aspect of going hunting: killing. And today he really didn´t feel like more unnecessary misery...  
Realizing Dave still stood frozen in place next to him, Chris turned his head to look at him. Dave still stared in the direction their prey disappeared into but something was off. He seemed to think real hard about something. Chris took a moment to take the image in.

  
Dave wasn´t that much older than him, maybe 3-4 years. There was a light stubble on his face but not as prominent as Chris´ (even though he found time again to shave, feeling a lot better doing it in a well-kept bathroom than a trailer). His brows, that almost constantly seemed to be knit in concentration. The left one was separated by a small, bald spot as if a scar once ran through it. But it likely faded since you couldn´t see much.

  
They were held in a deep black color like his hair.

  
It was slicked back like Chris himself used to wear it and it felt like that had been Dave´s choice of hairstyle for the biggest time. It was pretty short now but he had bragged about how he used to rock a small mullet back in the day. Damn, he remembered when these things were cool...

  
The most obvious and recognizable feature about Dave was probably a huge tattoo on his right arm saying 'Mother love'...

  
Most of the time he wore long sleeved things, especially now in winter it was easy to cover it up. Why Dave wanted to cover it so bad Chris would never understand. It looked good, it was well made and he had understood the Queen reference right away. Which ended in the both of them talking about the rock band for days, remembering all their songs and albums.   
But he couldn´t shake the feeling that the man was oddly familiar to him. As if he knew him from an incident which was a long time ago. Too long ago for him to remember...

  
"Hey, Richard?"

  
"Hmm?" Just now did Chris notice that Dave sought eye contact and he had been staring at the guy for some awkwardly long time.

  
"How´s Ricky doing?" Oh right, he knew about him.

  
"Fine, I´d say. Is somewhere out with the Hanson daughter.", he felt like he needed to describe. He doubted that Dave knew Alyssa´s name somehow.

  
"She seemed to like him..." No shit, she was head over heels for Piers. And it bothered him still. But Dave gave him not much time as he went on. "So you and Ricky decided to stay in Bearcreek now for good? I remember you being pretty conflicted over it." Dave walked ahead a few steps and seated himself on a fallen tree, looking at Chris as if he expected him to do the same.

So this is what this whole thing was about. Chris gave a sigh and gave in before he took place next to him.

  
"I guess I still am. But he likes it here..."

  
"Why can´t you go back where you were before?" To anyone else, that question seemed rather tactless and rude. But Chris didn´t mind, it was just Dave´s way of sating his curiosity.

  
"Mistakes have been made and we both needed a fresh start..." It was the truth. Just that he left out all the stuff about an anti-bioterrorism organization looking for his partner, ready to put him down once they did.

  
Dave hummed in thoughts. "That... sounds familiar. To a situation, I had to go through..."

  
That awoke Chris´ own curiosity and he came to look at Dave. He really felt as if he should know him, goddammit. And this tattoo...

  
Dave turned to look at him too and a long silence followed, Dave´s eyes never leaving Chris, staring as if he urged him to confess. To just tell him. Chris did consider it for the slightest moment but he couldn´t do that! Not when there was Piers´ neck on the line.

  
"So... I wonder, what´s your real name?" The slyest smile he ever saw on a human face covered his lips. And in utter shock, Chris realized this man had figured out his secret, just like that. Just like that.  
"..." Chris´ mouth ran dry in panic and his thoughts raced. This couldn´t be. What should he do?! Shoot the guy, grab Piers and leave Wyoming? Probably. But he couldn´t kill a person! Not if that person was perfectly fine and uninfected. The event in the HQ that happened before they fled... already gave him enough guilt!

  
"Dave? Are you feeling alright?" Chris was terrible at pretending he didn´t know anything if he clearly did. And Dave was good at picking up on it.

  
"Richard Aiken, right? Richard Aiken died in 1998 in Raccoon City." His ice cold voice resounded through the trees and it was as if they reflected it, throwing it back at Chris from all directions.

  
"I kept a close eye on the case. Not just he died this night. A lot of people did. Whole Bravo Team except one little doll face plus part of Alpha Team. And a name died too in the Arklay mountains. It´s Billy Coen."

  
Billy Coen... Billy Coen! It was as if Chris got hit by a train, all the memories rushing back to him. The reason Bravo Team got sent in was to investigate the murders around the mountains. When they got there, they had radioed in a couple of times, even mentioning the name Billy Coen here and there. Mother Love... of course it was him!

  
After they had left the mansion behind, they had a lot of questions towards Rebecca. But the young girl was too traumatized at the time to answer most of them. What happened to her teammates or Coen. Later on, she had declared that she was the only survivor. Bravo Team and Billy Coen were dead.

  
Rebecca... Why did she lie?

  
In all these years after, even after she did indeed join the BSAA, she never lost a word again. But Chris knew. Knew that she still had his dog tags, in fact, wore them.

  
He could only imagine how important the man had been to her to hold onto them even after such a long time. And everything they spent together was one night. But experiences like that push people together...

  
So... it all would end with this. On the other side, murder did not lapse. Even after almost 20 years, Billy was just as much a wanted criminal like Chris and Piers were now. He must have sensed this. Both of them knew something about the other, there was no need for blackmail.

  
"Chris Redfield...", he finally let out and it felt like he himself didn´t use his real name in ages.   
"Chris... Redfield..." Billy seemed to think for a moment before his sharp eyes returned to his face. "S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team. If I´m not mistaken you were... marksman."

  
Here we go, Chris didn´t think it was possible to find another person on this planet that seemed just as much obsessed with Raccoon like him. Maybe even more.

  
"That´s correct. And you´re the wanted criminal Bravo Team was assigned with to arrest."

  
"Yeah, but that was a long time ago. I keep my nose out of shit these days." Not that Billy had a reason to justify himself. In fact, he could have never started this conversation. But there seemed to be something on his mind. Maybe he just wanted to help someone in the same situation like himself. Or just wanted someone to talk to, to be open.

  
"Man, this world really is small...", Chris sighed.

  
"Bearcreek of all the places in the goddamn US!" A laugh left Billy and it was one of these loud obnoxious ones. Not like Piers at all.

  
Chris would have almost asked him what brought him here. But it was probably the same story like in their case. Look for the loneliest, most run down, little village and then stay there, in hopes no one finds out about your secret.   
"So she did keep her promise..." He knew right away Coen was talking about Rebecca. Who else?

  
"Chambers told everyone you´re dead. Is that what she promised?"

  
"Yeah. Dollface said she would make sure no one would look for me. And she did..." His eyes wandered into the distance and there was a hint of something soft in his expression. A whole new side to him. Then again he barely knew him for 14 days.   
Chris felt the urge to tell him. That she still had his dog tags. But he quickly reminded himself it wasn´t his business. It wouldn´t change a thing.

  
This train had left the station too long ago. And now Billy Coen was rotting in the middle of nowhere. Just like they did. But it felt good to have someone with you that knew the horror of Raccoon City. Piers was of course trained too and all, but there was still a special mentality about the first ever outbreak...

  
"Hate to sound like a creep, Redfield, but what happened to Rebecca? What is she doing now?" The former captain of Alpha Team suppressed the need to chuckle in his face. He should have known that was his question.

  
"I don´t know how good you kept up with bioterror over the years. But it became a real threat and the BSAA was founded. We take care of these things... I mean them, they do. Rebecca is with them."

  
Then, without him even wanting too, it did happen after all. "You know... she never puts down your dog tags, not once have I seen her without them since '98..."

  
A low chuckle that died to a weak sigh.

  
"It´s been so long... Right after the incident I stole a car... and drove as far as the gas in it would allow. Did that a couple of times. Changed my name to Dave Blair. And this has become my life. I... often wondered what happened to Becky but..."

  
How Chris would like to show him a picture or something... Rebecca sure did grow up. But she never changed much. Still had the same hairstyle, kept it short. Still had these cute, girlish features even though she herself was already heading for 34...   
Still was alone like the most BSAA agents. Maybe she just never really forgot Billy...

  
Just like he never forgot her.

  
"If it makes it any better... the last time I saw her, maybe five weeks ago, she was doing fine. She probably still is."  
Dave or... Billy now just nodded and looked to the ground.

  
"Sorry for putting you on the spot, Redfield. But as soon as I heard the name Richard Aiken, I knew something was wrong. And if you knew the name, I figured you were from S.T.A.R.S. or something. Couldn´t hold back..."

  
Chris himself didn´t really mind though. Putting a hand to the back of his neck, he shrugged lightly without a word.

  
"Look, I´m not gonna spill the beans, alright? Just like... you won´t either and everything will stay exactly like it is." That was just fine with Chris! So he gave a fast nod.

  
"Sure... Billy." It was weird using that name, him suddenly becoming a whole different person. One that he should have recognized from the beginning. But Chris knew he couldn´t make that a habit. He would still have to call him Dave in front of everyone else, just like he had to call him Richard.

  
"Alright." Billy gave a tired grunt as he pushed himself upright, shouldering his rifle. "Let´s call it a day." Chris immediately followed suit and walked in Billy´s tracks back towards the village, silently.

  
What had just happened? In the span of a quarter hour, he had recovered a piece of his past that was long forgotten. Barry, Jill and Rebecca were the only one´s he felt connected to through the Arklay incident. Even though they spoke rarely about it these days.

  
Now there was Billy Coen. The ex-lieutenant that was death-sentenced because he was accused to have killed 23 civilians. Now that he thought about it... he would have to have a talk with Billy about that...

  
Becca had always mumbled things like ' He was innocent' when asked about Billy Coen, even after she stated that he had died.   
But he wasn´t dead. Just like him, Billy had built a new life. One that he wasn´t fully satisfied with either, Chris had a feeling.

But that was just how things were now...


	12. Home, Sweet Home

"Richard!" Piers was there when he came home. Of course he was, like always. It was strangely comforting and becoming a habit fast. Chris pushed open the gate and wondered for a second why the other was using his fake name when no one else was in sight.

  
But Alyssa was there, right after him, coming rushing over with a wide grin. For a small moment, Chris felt like a father, coming home to his two kids. But Piers and Alyssa were adults, knew about life. Piers walked through as much shit as Chris did.

  
"Hey." He didn´t feel like talking too much as he entered the garden and let the gate hit the lock after him. Patricia joined them too, the same happy expression on her face and his feeling, as if that was his family from before, got stronger.  
God, it was about time for him and Piers to get out of Bearcreek.

  
The longer they stayed in one place... Piers wouldn´t like it but the BSAA was still on their tail.

  
"Richard. How are you? What did Dave say?" That he was that wanted criminal from 20 years ago they all thought died in the zombie-infested Arklay mountains.

  
"Nothing much. There was not much going on today so we left rather early."  
He tried to push past them but Patricia continued to block his way.

  
"That´s fine, I was about to finish cooking dinner." He stopped in his tracks and looked down at her beautiful face. That... felt strange, domestic. Was that what he had wanted for the longest time? A small growl emerged from behind and when he looked back, his eyes laid on Piers, arms crossed in front of his chest, wearing that pout he knew too well.

  
No, it wasn´t.

  
And it would never be.

  
"That´s too nice of you, Tricia. I´ll come meet you guys later."

  
It was rude. It really was, as he finally managed to dodge her and return in the trailer, sitting down on one of the wooden chairs. It felt like he hadn´t been in here in like days.

  
Chris supported his head in both of his hands, he... just needed some minutes to calm down, he thought as he swallowed another one of his pills. He had no idea how but Patricia managed to get some after they had an awkward discussion about his condition.

  
"Chris...!" Nevermind. There was just one person of the household who knew his real name so he felt rather relaxed when Piers followed him and calmly shut the door behind himself.

  
A few moments no one said a thing and after the long silence, Chris couldn´t take it anymore and turned to his protege, a questioning glare in his eyes.

  
"What is it, Piers?" The younger one stood there, leaned on the closed door and had the same facial expression ever since he came in.

  
"Isn´t that what I should ask you?" He forgot. He forgot how good the sniper had become at reading him like an open book. Goddammit, just some moments in peace...

  
"Dave Blair isn´t Dave Blair." It was almost inaudible and it caused Piers to stroll closer and he took the seat opposite to his former Captain. Like they had done so often before. The situation was hard for everyone.

  
"What do you mean? Who is Dave Blair? Is he a threat?" Everyone was a potential threat if they would find out about them.  
"It´s... someone I know... from Raccoon City. But he shouldn´t even be alive.", Chris sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

  
"Like me or...?"

  
"No, like in 'I got told he died and he wasn´t all these years'..."

  
It was as if neither of the both knew what to say as Piers let out a thoughtful hum.  
"Raccoon City? So he´s a member of S.T.A.R.S.?"

  
Just now did Chris look up and held Piers´ staring gaze.  
"No. He was a wanted criminal. Bravo Team was assigned to hunt him down. On that mission, they went all missing. That´s when we got sent in."

  
"So in a way... the Arklay incident was his fault, is that what you´re trying to say?"

  
Chris heaved another sigh. He couldn´t count them anymore. And it was barely 5 in the afternoon.  
"No. We would have to do something about it, either way, it´s just... Rebecca lied to all of us. She said he was dead. But instead, he fled. He was death-sentenced."

  
"And now you feel conflicted about him being free and all. You hate the fact that Miss Chamber lied to you and let a sentenced inmate roam the US. You are caught between wanting him behind bars because that´s what you were being told all these years ago and knowing how he feels cause we´re in the same situation."

  
Looking up at Piers, he had that smug expression on his face whenever he knew he connected the dots just right. He used to wear it all the time. Lately, it had been replaced by fear and guilt and sadness.

  
What had happened to the both of them? They were rotting away in the nothingness of Bearcreek, constantly scared of being caught and having to face the consequences of them breaking the rules.

  
"Exactly..." The boy was too smart for his own good sometimes.

  
The younger one leaned forward now, supporting his weight on the old table that gave an agonizing squeak once he did so.  
"Does he know?"

  
Chris couldn´t look at him when he answered. "I´m sorry..."

  
"That´s... that´s just fine... I guess. We´ll be fine." Piers´ voice almost sounded like it broke for a second and looking back again, it seemed almost as if the other one was building up for a panic attack. Goddammit, not again.

  
"He said he wouldn´t get us in trouble. After all, Billy is in hiding as well. They still want him after all these years. He won´t take the risk."

  
"Chris..?" There was another tone suddenly in Piers´ voice and it made Chris uncomfortable and curious at the same time. He laid his head to one the side to motion for the sniper that he was listening.  
"Yeah...?"

  
"Whatever happens, we´ll stay together, right?" It wasn´t really a question. It wasn't really a statement. It was something in between. As if Piers was desperately looking for support, encouragement. They both really needed it. And more than once lately had Chris thought, that without Piers, he would have given up long ago.

  
"...We´re partners, Piers. Until the bitter end."

  
"Good, because someone´s gotta keep an eye on you." It were words they both recognized. Words long left behind but now recovered. It got them both smiling before they raised to their feet and shared a long, loving hug.

  
They may still haven´t crossed the line to dating, Chris thought with a grin, but he still never felt so loved by a person.  
When they left the trailer again, that hadn´t been moved from that day they got here, Patricia and Alyssa were nowhere to be seen and they figured they went inside.

  
Exchanging a look, they made their way to the door and found it unlocked and even open by a slit. Patricia often did these days when they were out in the trailer as they trusted them enough and the gateway was closed, anyway. Both of them had yet declined a personal key…

  
The light that shone through was so warm and it made a heavy contrast against the cold, dark autumn air.  
They entered and the warmth immediately welcomed them and they let out a sigh.

  
It had become like a ritual. Them sitting down, Patricia bringing the food and then uttering a prayer.  
It got silent fast as usual. It didn't matter to the both of them. The silence was comfortable and they liked to believe the girls thought so too.

  
“Richard…” Patricia suddenly started to break the silence. “Something came up just a few hours ago. I'm sorry it's on such short notice but I will have you to take a job tomorrow.” Chris started to believe that Patricia really liked her new role. Not only does she have more control over Chris. No, she just came to get comfortable with the fact that having Chris work here meant they wouldn't leave anytime soon.

  
But he was fine with it, really. But Piers gave him a subtle stare. The sniper hated the days when Chris was working, he was aware. So Chris tried to reduce them so Piers wouldn't be alone all the time. But at the same moment, Chris thought it wasn't wrong to try and make some money for the case they would leave this village behind again.

  
So he found himself saying, “It´s fine. I can make it, no sweat.”  
“Excellent. It's so good to be able to count on you, Richard.”

  
It wasn't like he had much choice. Chris had a high sense of duty. If there was a job given to you, you better try your goddamn hardest to get it done.

  
The next half an hour both of the soldiers spend with trying to dodge attempts of the girls to flirt with them. With little to no real success.

  
“You know, I'm getting so sick of this…” The door to the guest room, or more their room now, clicked shut after they both entered and Piers rubbed over his eyes in a tired manner.  
“Just now…?”

  
Chris´ voice sounded even deeper and more pissed today than usual. But he also didn't seem to be really fond of talking right now as he strode over to the bed and got a hold of his nightwear.  
“Yeah, like…. They're becoming really desperate lately…”

  
Just a tired grunt from the veteran. Piers furrowed his brows, a mixture of frustration and confusion. His partner in crime now walked, with his nightwear in hand, past him towards the guest bathroom. Just as he was about to cross him, Piers planted a hand flat on his chest and stopped him in his tracks.

  
“You know, I was talking with you…” Their gaze connected some and Chris´ face fell, letting his head hung and he sighed. “I know… sorry. Just… try to keep a cool head with the girls tomorrow.” That was already enough to satisfy the sniper and he let his hand drop to his side with a quick nod, making way for Chris to pass him. “...” He usually used the time Chris took in the bathroom to change into his own clothes. It had once or twice led to an awkward situation here and there when Chris would walk in on him while his pants were down or so. But of course, they had solved these with behaving like adults, blushing in embarrassment and never talking about it again because it was just so awkward.

  
This day they were fine and 10 minutes later they lied in bed together. Bed, it wasn't more than a fold out couch like in their trailer. But this, at least, was clean and without holes in it. And even though sleeping on this was much more comfortable and Piers really did sleep better and calmer than before, it wasn't the case on this night. He never really caught much shut eye when he knew Chris would leave somewhere in the night.

  
Restraining himself from rolling around too much, the hours passed by in slow agony. Chris was soundly asleep, Piers knew. He knew how his breathing sounded when he did, slow and even. Sometimes Chris snored but rarely so. Most of the time, just if he was laying funny. But even Chris snoring was something Piers liked. Not being able to sleep you have a lot of time to think, he realized.

  
He loved Chris. God, he wanted Chris. They were on the run for almost a month now and they weren't any closer to each other yet…

  
“Nn…” Next to him, he felt stirring and he held his breath, cuddling closer into the sheets and pretending to be asleep. A dim light illuminated the room from the corner of his eyes and Piers knew Chris was checking his phone. Chris obviously thought of it as late enough, without the alarm having set off yet since he slowly sat up. The sniper could tell that the other paid great attention not to wake him as he inched out of the bed.

  
Not much later, the older one disappeared into the bathroom. That was as much that he saw of his crush this morning as the other straight up left the room after he exited it.

  
“...”

  
Sitting up himself, Piers checked his phone as well. 4:21am.

  
Well, Chris was on his way to work now and he… well, he would have to see if he somehow could still catch some sleep. It proved hard to do so, his military habits still buried somewhere deep inside him. Usually, he would already work at that time.  
But the simple lifestyle still made it work somehow and the next time he opened his eyes, it was bright outside.

  
“Ugh….” He gave a tired groan before another knock on the door made him understand why he woke up. “One moment, please…”, he mumbled and once again looked over to his phone. 8:57am.

  
Walking over to the door, he realized he wasn't wearing much. Some boxers, yeah, but that was about it.  
It would have to do for now.

  
He regretted the decision. There were only two people how could have knocked on his door. One was more awkward than the other.

  
And of course, it was Alyssa.

  
“M-Morning…”, she started in embarrassment as she saw him like that after the door gave view on Piers. Oh hell...  
“Morning, Alyssa. What is it?” He gave his best not to show any emotion and just leaned onto the door handle as if he didn't care.

  
“M-Mom is making… breakfast. She wanted me to get you…”

  
Now the interesting thing he’d like to know was if it were the scars that were messing her up so badly right now. It was the first time she saw them like that and he had to admit, his right side looked better by now but it would never really fade. Chances were that they wouldn't even get close to it.

  
Having mercy on the girl, the sniper gave a quick nod before already closing the door in front of her face. “Will be down in 10.”

  
Who was he kidding? It wasn't about the scars. Realization hit him like a train, it was because she liked him. Well… it would certainly take a lot from a person to not turn their back and run, a part of his mind said. However, the majority was busy trying to get him back on the important things in his life with pictures of Chris in that ferris wheel 2 weeks ago. Yeah, that's the right spirit.

  
Humming in silent appreciation, Piers continued with putting on some clothes and spending the least amount of time in the bathroom he could right now.

  
Once he cleaned himself up, he left the room behind him and slowly made his way down the stairs to the first floor.  
Once again, Patricia paid him little to no mind at all. Not more than a simple "Morning, Ricky." as he sat down at the table. It was almost as if she knew. Knew that he was the missing piece that took Chris´ affection. As if she knew he was the one in her way towards the older soldier.

  
"Patricia..", he just greeted back with squinted eyes. Well, let´s make damn sure it stays that way...

  
Alyssa didn´t let them wait for long and with everyone gathered for now, they started their breakfast. Piers had to say, even though Patricia was still a bitch to him, he felt more like home like he ever did on base in all these years. It was something different to eat in a usual kitchen, instead of a cafeteria in which you just get trash to eat, anyway. Having a personal shower and not having to share with the rest of the entire squad. It were these and countless other things he appreciated, he really did. And it felt more and more like a family life as well.

  
With his father being away 24/7 and his siblings all being older than him and basically never having to deal with his shit, the closest person he had was his Mom. But she was just a woman as well, so Piers had learned fast to entertain himself outside. It was a healthy childhood, filled with a lot of playing in the mud and crouching through the grass. He remembered his dog, Charlie, a Border Collie being with him all the time.

  
Now, you see, Piers was really young when he got Charlie so it wasn´t the most creative name, let´s not even talk about the fact that Charlie was a female. But then again, that dog had been his life. Without that dog, Piers might have gotten real problems from the loneliness.

  
Now he was here, thrown in a family with a "mother", that didn´t like him but okay, a random girl that felt quite as annoying as his sister and Chris, who wasn´t here all day, but then he did...

  
It was weird to explain for Piers. But it felt more and more as if Chris was taking over a father role in this household. No doubt Alyssa already felt like this and hey, Patricia wanted him anyway.

  
But Piers couldn´t accept that. He never imagined Chris with a wife and kids, he was always the kind of soldier who would do everything to avoid settling down. And now, all of the sudden, he was so fucking good at it.

  
But this wasn´t how it was supposed to be, Piers suddenly realized as he looked down at his toast and waffles. It was supposed to be him and Chris!

  
"Hey, Ricky!" Looking up he found that ever so enthusiastic face of Alyssa smiling at him. "You wanna go to the lake, right after this? I thought we could pick up where we left off the other day."

  
Sure, maybe this was a good way to keep his mind steady. So he agreed with a nod and after they helped Patricia a little with cleaning up, they collected the fishing poles from the shed in the garden and made their way out of the village.


	13. Freetime And Work

Fishing. Piers didn´t even know how to fish before. Apparently one of these things his father never had time to do with him. But like most things in his life, Piers was fast to master it with little explanation from Alyssa´s part. There wasn´t much to it anyway. And he realized that it wasn´t really something he should have ever missed in his life.

  
But after all, there was something else that bothered him, neither the less.

  
It was stupid in a way. But it was the fact that Alyssa was there when he first did it. By now it had become like an unwritten rule that he’d do such things with the older male. You know, things you were supposed to do when you were younger but you never did because your father was an asshole kinda things.

  
Like the skipping of rocks and stargazing…

  
He remembered Chris talking about fishing and that he used to do it when he was younger. Just now Piers realized that Chris did a lot more things when Piers in that age now.

  
Arriving at the lake and building something like a small camp for the day, these thoughts never left him.  
Chris mentioned as well that one of these days, they could try it together. Seemed like Alyssa beat him to it…

  
“So these poles are actually Daddy’s… He always fished with me even though Mother didn't want me to. Said I always stunk like fish three days after.”

  
Once they set everything up and sat down to wait, Alyssa found back her hobby to talk about everything possible.  
“You think Richard will ever fish with us?” As an answer to this Piers could just sigh. Chris would never be like her dad. When would she understand?

  
“I don't know. He seems kinda busy these days…”

  
"Yeah, but I got the feeling he was relieved to find work that fast." Slowly, Piers looked over to her. In a way it was right. He and Chris were in big need for some money, even more so if they ever had to keep moving. With no IDs or anything else on them to confirm their identities, it was like a miracle Patricia took Chris in just like that.

  
So they probably should be more grateful than what they had shown before. And Piers was, really.

   
And if he thought about it rational, things have been going great ever since their arrival in Bearcreek.

  
Once or twice Piers had seriously thought about asking Patricia for a job as well. Sitting around, doing nothing wasn´t good for the sniper but... there were still these things called 'mutation marks'. And they were visible to everyone. And they got people to freak out and ask questions. They already had enough prying eyes on themselves ever since the festival. Patricia talked to the woman from the entrance who handed out the flyer. The residents knew where he belonged now. But still, one wrong word from them to someone from out the village...

  
"We both are. It´s just that... things were hard on us."

  
Saying that he didn´t think about telling Alyssa a lie. The constant lying was eating away at him from the inside. The truth was like a boiling mess inside him, ready to spill out in whatever form possible. He wasn´t telling Chris but recently the electricity cramps were picking up again. The last time he experienced them was in confinement.

  
"I can imagine..." She couldn´t. She would never be able to.

  
Tell her about China. Tell her about the mutation. Tell her about the fact that a whole anti-bioterror organization wants you dead. Tell her and see what happens.

  
Sometimes he really wished C would shut up and leave him alone.  
Had it come to this already? That he was just calling this thing inside 'C'? Well, he figured he needed a name if it ever started talking with him again...

  
His condition was getting worse again and Piers knew it. That was the worst part of it.

  
Then without a warning, he confessed. It was as if it wasn´t his doing. Maybe it was C´s. Maybe something entirely different.  
"You know the BSAA?"

  
With the most confused expression he´d ever seen on her, she stared at him, her eyes searching for something in his scarred face, he didn´t know she was ever able to find.

  
"I...do? I mean, most people do? What´s so special about them all of the sudden?"  
That was his last chance. He could say something totally unrelated and they could continue seeking shelter in Bearcreek. If he could just bring C to shut up.

  
Or he could keep talking and creep Alyssa out with the truth so that someone from around here calls the BSAA in and he´d be turned in for science. Not to mention the consequences for Chris if they ever got their hands on him.  
"It´s... nothing. I just... I don´t know where I was going with this..." His usual so fast brain failed to come up with an excuse and the chances were so incredibly high that Alyssa wouldn´t let up from this. He might have ruined everything he and Chris had to go through the last 4 weeks for.

  
"...I see...." Full with surprise, he looked up from the lake he had been staring at for some time now and sought eye contact with her. When he did, a small smile grazed her lips. She knew... something. Probably knew that the both of them were playing some kind of act on the whole village. But still decided to let it drop.

  
Just because she knew he didn´t want to talk about it, that it could probably get dangerous for them.  
But she knew.

  
"I´m sorry but I can´t talk about it...", he whispered into the cool morning air so his breath came out in little white clouds.  
"You know... I´ve figured something was weird with you guys but... I won´t tell anyone, you hear me? Just so you can stay with us..." Her gaze was pleading and she laid her head to the side in a manner that screamed that she wouldn´t bear just the thought.

  
How could he make her understand that they might have to leave, after all, one day? Then again, Billy Coen had found shelter in Bearcreek for 15 years now, no one ever came close to his trail.

  
"We´re not going anywhere for now.", he retorted with a confident smile and looked over the horizon once more.  
Suddenly, he felt a weight on his shoulder. His good one at least, not that that bit of a pressure would have hurt his right anyway. He didn´t need to look to understand it was Alyssa.

  
Fine, let her rest her head on you, that´s not a big deal. By now Alyssa started to feel like a little sister to him, weird considering he always had just older siblings. But nothing more. However, he knew it was different for her.

  
But resting her head against you is fine! He had hoped it would have stayed at this, but it didn´t. A few seconds later, that pressure left him again and a hand came to rest on his right cheek, brushing scars while tilting his head in her direction to face her.

  
"Ricky..." Her lips were already so close, he could feel her breath. She smelled like safety and home.  
The tips of their noses started brushing against each other and she closed her eyes.  
Safety and home... rivaling the scent of musky autumn air and cheap aftershave in his nose.

  
Oh no, he couldn´t. Pulling away with way too much force, he fell back and found support on his hands as he looked at her with big eyes.

  
"..." She seemed just as surprised at the reaction as he was as her brows furrowed together in slow realization that she had just been rejected.

  
One or two painful slow seconds passed and C wouldn´t shut up in his head. Asked him questions why he didn´t kiss her and that his chances with the other male were as good as zero.  
God, he wouldn´t let a goddamn virus in his system question his decisions in life. Or maybe he imagined it once more and he was the one questioning his own sanity.

  
"I´m sorry..." Alyssa eventually let out and Piers couldn´t bring himself to anything else than a small nod.

  
There were a lot of awkward situations that had happened to him in his young life but this certainly took the price. Without much more further conversation, they returned to their prior positions on the ground even though there was noticeable more space between them. Piers didn´t want to hurt her with this but at the same time, he didn´t found himself able to inch closer.  
So the hours passed by without them having much luck with the fishing either. Resting his head on his arms that he wrapped around his knees, Piers began to wonder if Chris´ day was playing out any better.

 

  
\-------------

 

  
"Richard, how much longer until you get finally over here?!"

  
Well, fuck you. He´d like to see Anderson carry all these planks on his fucking shoulder. Sure, the dude was maybe around 10 years younger than him but certainly not as trained.

  
God, he used to punch fucking boulders and now he had troubles with lifting this? He started getting soft.  
Finally being able to put the last bit of the distance behind him agonizingly slow, Chris rested the bundle of planks against the wall of the shed they were repairing.

  
“I am already here. Goddammit, calm down…”, the former soldier muttered under his breath as he slowly turned around and made eye contact with Anderson. As an answer, he got a sassy grunt from the construction worker.

  
This was a life he’d never get used to.

  
"Fine, whatever. Go to lunch with the others and be back in 20." He remembered there was a reason he hated authorities. It felt strangely foreign to take orders from someone younger than him, anyways.  
Chris gave a short nod and observed how Anderson headed his way for lunch as well, even though he never spend it with the others.

  
This was the worst thing he had ever done in his life. Not that he´d done much apart from fighting bioterror. Maybe these part-time jobs he had to take between getting thrown out of the Air Force and S.T.A.R.S.

  
Arriving at their makeshift lunch table, in the garden of the person they were fixing that shed for, that wasn´t much more than some stacked wooden panels, he sat down next to Tony. Tony wasn´t working for Patricia anymore like he said on the festival, at least officially. Whenever Patricia would ask him nicely because she was out of people, he´d still be there and help out.

  
A bunch of other guys were there as well, around half a dozen. Chris didn´t put the effort into learning their names. In a way, it felt like hanging out with Alpha back then, but on the other side, it was the complete opposite. These men had no manners or any good upbringing. Chris was the last person who was judging people from first glance but this was ridiculous.

  
Even in the Air Force, when he was still young and he´d get into shit with his comrades because they played too many pranks,... it still felt like they had more dignity and sympathy at the time than this bunch, Chris thought with a frown as he watched two of the guys whistling at a woman who happened to pass by the property they were working on. A loud burp came from his left and he didn´t even bother to look from whom it came from as he sighed and pulled out the sandwiches Patricia had left on the kitchen counter for him this morning, from his backpack.

  
"It´s the country upbringing." Tony suddenly started and Chris looked over to him. "I see the disgust in your eyes sometimes and to be honest... they are a filthy bunch. But that´s just how it is around here. Don´t judge them.", he shrugged.

  
The former Captain of Alpha merely shrugged as he took a bite of his lunch and Tony waited patiently all the while until Chris had swallowed and replied.

  
"I don´t.",he just said even thought it wasn´t 1oo percent true. He wanted to say something about not feeling like he belonged here but thought better of it. Everyone already knew about his wish to just vanish from this piece of the US.  
"..." Tony didn´t reply to it, maybe sensing that Chris wasn´t really sure about his own answer.

  
Looking around, Chris noticed that said man next to him was the only one to not have anything to eat. And for the first time, he felt curious about his story.

  
"Hey, Tricia packed two sandwiches for me. You want one?"

  
Like he had mentioned earlier, Chris wasn´t so dense as not to know when people were interested. That went for women that wanted him but also the other way around. Tony was horribly attracted towards Patricia.

  
The taller man looked up from the wooden surface and Chris could see in his eyes how he hated him calling her 'Tricia'. That was a name that was probably just used from him before.

  
He probably hated him for living with her just as much. How could he make him understand that he´d even be happy when he´d get this woman off his tail?

  
After some more seconds of staring Chris had to endure, Tony eventually nodded and reached after the second sandwich Chris offered to him.

  
"Patricia is a wonderful person, Richard, you´d better watch her..."  
"Before someone else comes and gets her!" Tony and Chris both looked up to one of the other guys. If he wasn´t mistaken his name had been Robert. He now took a seat opposite of them and the rest of the guys that already sat inched closer to his left and right. It looked like one of these scenes out of a cheap Highschool movie were the bullies were teaming up. God, weren´t they all just a bit too old for that?!

  
"Like you said, Patricia is quite pretty for her age." Yeah... if Alyssa was around 21... then you could be Patricia´s son as well. That thought was kinda disgusting if he really thought about her THAT way...

  
Carefully, Chris looked over to Tony but there was barely any reaction as he continued to chew his sandwich.

  
"Richard was the name, right?" He didn´t even let Chris answer before he continued. "You have to know that Tony really fancies little Trish." Still no reaction.

  
"So you might have to be careful if you start to think about banging her."

  
"...!" Everyone around the table flinched than a large fist collided with the hard surface of the wood. Everyone except Chris. He had expected this. These guys really had no morals.

  
"Shut it, Robert. No one wants to hear your bullshit.", Tony growled quietly and he succeeded with it as Robert gave a sigh and a half-shrug.

  
"Just telling ya, man. If you don´t act then other people will come. Some like Richard." Tony and Chris´ eyes met and Chris just shook his head. If they´d know...

  
"Not really. She´s just so nice to let me live with her for the time being."

  
"So you´re saying you don´t want that?", Robert chuckled and talked about Patricia as if she wasn´t more than a piece of meat.

  
Chris tried to ignore him for the longest moment but Robert, and eventually the others in his group, didn´t stop pressing the matter so the veteran felt like he could play their little game a little longer. Maybe it would even put Tony a little at ease, to know that he would have Patricia all for himself. Chris certainly wouldn´t mind.

  
"So I´m saying she isn´t my type." Once again, he didn´t even know if he had something like that. Probably not.

  
"What´s your type?" It was obvious that this question would surface eventually. And once again, he thought about waving them off before stopping in his tracks for some seconds.

  
Why don´t you go with the truth? They don´t need to know. A sly smile appeared on his face and he leaned onto the table which caused his opposite to inch closer as well as if he was about to tell him the biggest secret.

  
"I like ´em brunette, I like ´em young and smart. Preferably with shorter hair, hazel eyes, loyal... And 20/20 vision."  
He leaned back and watched with great interest how the cogwheels turned in Robert´s head until he finally let out with a frown, "That´s... oddly specific..."

  
Next to him, he felt Tony stare holes into him. He´d seen Piers on the festival, without a doubt he´d figured that out the second it had left Chris´ mouth.

  
"Specific, indeed..." Robert still thought about it. "So you are crushing on someone then?"

  
"You might say that..." Seeing Anderson slowly approaching them to send them back to work, Chris got calmly up from his seat. Wrapping the rest of his lunch up and stuffing it back into his backpack, he turned away from the group. Robert´s voice made him stop in his tracks.

  
"She cute?"

  
"Aiken, back to your spot. Just like everyone else. Get moving!"

  
Chris looked back to his coworkers and saw them slowly leaving the table, in whatever direction their work was located. Just Robert still stood there, a few feet away as if still awaiting an answer.

  
"He´s the cutest thing I´ve ever laid eyes on."

  
He didn´t look back at his face before turning around and making his way to the shed.


	14. Crumbled And Blown Cover

"Richard... that move was stupid as hell..." He could hear Tony next to him mutter under his breath. It was hard to make out over the sound of constant hammering as Tony attached the planks to the shed, with nails waiting to be used between his teeth and hammer in hand.

  
Chris gave a weak grunt as he continued to paint the few planks left to protect them from wind and rain.

  
"I´ve done things that were more stupid than that."

  
"I don´t know how you survived until now..." Neither did he. Too much luck for him but never for the people that were on his side.

  
"I´m not scared of Robert and the others if you mean that." Of course, he wasn´t. He would probably be able to beat them up all at once.

  
If Chris was honest, then he felt like Tony wasn´t fully okay with this either. But the guy knew how to behave properly and right now he was the only one he´d trust around here.  
"You should be scared of everyone right now." Tony looked up after he attached the latest plank and now waited for a new one from Chris. Said one looked up with a frown but the moment he made eye contact with Tony, relaxed again. That wasn´t a threat. That was a legitimate warning for Chris.

  
"...I don´t get scared that easily." With that, Chris paid attention to his work again and soon after, handed a freshly painted plank towards Tony who was careful as can be to not touch the still wet parts.

  
As to change the topic but not completely, Tony shrugged and raised his voice again.

  
"So it´s the boy?" Hesitating for the slightest second, Chris once more looked up to Tony. He was still busy with the plank and fiddling with some nails in his hand.

  
"...Don´t worry, Patricia is all yours." Grunting, Chris kicked the bucket of paint a little away as he finished the last piece of wood.

  
"That´s not what I asked you."

  
That wasn´t really his business, now was it? Then again, Tony proved to be trustworthy when everyone else wasn´t.  
"Would it bother you if I´d say yes?" It was basically like saying yes.

  
Tony grabbed the last plank and his response took some time, seeing he just did after he was done with it and turned towards Chris.

  
"It wouldn´t bother me as much as you saying you like Patricia." With that he gave Chris a grin and pushed himself to his feet, dusting off the grass on his knees.

  
"Look... just keep him close. I don´t know what Robert will do. I just know that... this village is still stuck in the middle age in some parts and people get really strange when you rub them the wrong way."

  
Tony came over and clasped his shoulder for a second, still a smile on his face. He knew this from somewhere...  
"You have to stay together. That is your best bet right now... And I´ll be here if you need me as well, Richard..." With that, Tony turned away from him and left him alone. In a way, he felt like the rookie right now. Probably close to what Finn must have felt like. That´s where he knew this from...

  
There were some parts he remembered about the Edonia mission. Even after China, certain things were still missing. Other people had to fill him in on what happened when he was back in the US. But right now it was as if he was there again.  
He really didn´t need that flashback right now. Seeing that it was his time to leave as well, he walked over to the lunch table and grabbed his backpack that leaned there against it.

  
It was open. He didn´t leave it open.

  
Feeling a presence behind him, he knew things were getting darker by the second. Experience taught him that.

  
"His face is pretty handsome... for a guy." Chris suppressed a sigh as he turned and came face to face with Robert. His wallet was in the guy´s left hand, in his right... a photo.

  
Chris knew that photo. Robert had taken it out of the purse. It was him and Piers.

  
"Robert, give me that.", he started with the calmest voice he could muster, even though he felt like tearing this guy´s throat out. He had no right to touch his stuff.

  
"Nah, not really feeling like it. What´s the name of that boy?" Piers was older than Robert. If anyone was a boy or showing childish behavior than it was Robert.

  
"That´s none of your concern. I´m just saying it one more time. Give it back." They both knew Robert would get into trouble if he seriously pissed Chris off. But Chris also knew he´d be in worse trouble if he let himself get carried away too much and actually did something to him.

  
Outstretching his hand, Chris approached the remarkable younger one. He wouldn´t let himself lose it to such a childish kid. "Now."

  
"I need the name of the bitch first...!" Okay, that was the point Chris had had it. Just a moment ago he thought he´d be able to keep a cool head and solve this without anything happening. But Robert just managed to remarkably reduce his life span by uttering one sentence.

  
You don´t call Piers Nivans a bitch if Chris Redfield is around.

  
"I don´t know if your father ever served you a beating. But if he didn´t do his parenting right... I´ll gladly help him with that for today..."

  
Chris wasn´t by far someone who´d get violent towards other people, especially if they were younger than him. Not if it wasn´t necessary. But guess what. Now it was.

  
Approaching the younger one, he immediately saw the fear emerging from his expression and he hoped that alone would be enough to scare him a little and get his stuff back.

  
What he didn´t expect though, was Robert suddenly screaming as if he had a knife in his back right when Anderson chose the perfect moment to walk past them.

  
With another shriek, Robert let himself fall to the floor, letting go of wallet and photo and Chris used the small window he had to duck for them and get a hold of both. He barely managed to pack them away in his luggage before Anderson came running with an angry growl on his face. At least that still felt like usual.

  
"What the hell are you guys doing?!"

  
Of course, Robert was faster to respond and gave Chris the blame.

  
"Richard! He was about to become violent." Oh, is that so now? "He wanted to beat me up!" God, the kid would have really deserved that.

  
This was too ridiculous, this was too childish. It was obvious how Robert was simulating. Anderson couldn´t seriously belie-  
"Aiken! What the fuck?! Have you lost your goddamn mind?!" He could.

  
"Sir, I-..." When did he start addressing Anderson as 'Sir'?! For fuck´s sake, that dude was a decade younger than he!  
"Shut up! I don´t wanna hear the bullshit! Fuck off now...! Patricia and I will have a talk about this..." You could see how Anderson was just as done with the day if he just let Chris walk away now with some shouting.

  
Anderson sent a poisonous glare his way to tell him once more to get lost before he helped Robert up and turned away without another word. Robert´s ugly grin still met Chris´ eyes and he wished it wouldn´t have.

  
"Yes, sir..."

 

  
\--------------------

 

  
The drive home felt long as hell even if it wasn´t more than 30 minutes. He´d just been away two villages. Patricia allowed him to use her car whenever he had to drive somewhere, which was nice of her.

  
With a sigh, Chris got reminded of the bag of laundry that was waiting on the backseat. The Hanson´s didn´t have a washing machine. Like most houses in Bearcreek since it had a laundromat. Chris thought these things weren´t around anymore since the 90´s but apparently, Bearcreek still had one.

  
And he had promised Patricia. He and Piers would have to help the family in some way if they wanted to stay with them. He voluntarily took everything upon himself without even telling the younger soldier. He had too much on his plate anyway.  
Stopping in front of the gray, uninteresting building, Chris took another one of his pills Patricia got him and then exited the car with the item in question.

  
He almost reached the door when his senses told him he was being watched. Turning to his left, he couldn´t make out much more than a black coat vanishing around the next corner. He had been too slow to get a real look at the figure.

  
"..." A feeling of panic spread deep in his gut before he had the chance to calm himself down and blame it on his paranoia. They were fine!

  
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he finally pushed open the glass door and entered.

  
Not paying much attention to his surroundings, he straight up walked over to one of the washing machines and dumped the laundry in there, followed by a quarter.

  
"..." So he waited. He knew how self-service laundry worked because there was a time he and Claire had used them as well. Aware of this maybe taking a while, he sat down on one of the benches and fiddled out the rest of his sandwich from his backpack to sate his hunger.

 

  
\------------

 

  
"Hey, Richard..." Fast to stuff the photo of him and Piers back into his wallet, Chris looked up into Patricia´s green eyes.  
"What are you doing here? I thought you said I should go to the laundry?" She didn´t seem too thrilled about him practically staring at this photo but nodded fast as if clearing her mind. She took a seat next to him.

  
"Yeah, so I did. But... Richard, there are people sneaking around our house..."

  
Our house?  
Your house!

  
But that wasn´t that got Chris to bite his lip and almost choke on it.

  
"What kind of people...?" "Well... Alyssa and Ricky left the house that morning and I went into the garden to water the plants a bit and everything. And suddenly I turn towards the street and there is a guy on the fence. I politely asked him what he wanted and he turned away and left in a hurry."

  
"..." Chris´ heart was racing as were his thoughts. "What did he look like?"

  
"Pretty suspicious. He was wearing a pretty dark and thick leather jacket. Black, I think. It fell unnatural so I think he was carrying stuff beneath it. He actually had a gun holster around his waist. Boots." Gun holster... Unnatural falling jacket. Probably bulletproof.

  
"For his face... I couldn´t see. But he had brunette hair." Brunette was like 80 percent of the world population...

  
But from everything else she said... Chris was sure.

  
They were here.

  
The BSAA had found them.

  
"Patricia..." That was the moment he had feared would come.

  
"Ricky and I might have to leave. I´m sorry..." But they needed to get away. They had to survive. They had dragged Bearcreek too deep into this anyway.

  
"What do you mean?! You know these people?!" Her voice got louder as he got up and Chris immediately made her shut up with a look, feeling the gazes of the other people creeping over to them.

  
"I do." Hesitating, he returned to sitting next to her, the other people in the room slowly losing interest in them again.  
"Listen to me, Patricia. And listen good. Ricky and I, we´re not who you think we are. I´m sorry to say this but... we needed a safe place to stay and you offered that to us. And I´m grateful, I really am but if Ricky and I don´t move now... we won´t make it."

  
Her eyes went wide. In disappointment and it hurt Chris to see her like that. But things just went too far out of his hands until he couldn´t reach them anymore.

  
For a moment she was silent. Now she was, knowing probably that Chris wouldn´t have answered her any question she had. But it barely kept her in check for a moment before her curiosity had won again.

  
"Your name...", she finally spoke and Chris hesitated. "Richard Aiken is not your name, is it now?" She looked up and there was suddenly something else he could make out. Love. Not hate like he expected. And Chris swore, if there would be another universe in which he would have gotten to know her sooner, he might have married this woman...

  
"It´s Chris Redfield...", he got out quiet, still totally on alert and watching the entrance like a scared bunny. Maybe this was the most stupid thing he´d done on this trip but just like with Billy, he started trusting Patricia. Not that Chris didn´t know the feeling of betrayal of someone you once trusted..

.  
"What about Ricky Tozawa?"

  
"Piers Nivans..." That might be even more stupid. But Chris thought about everything that might comfort this woman in his arms right now. He´d feel terrible to have taken advantage of her for all this time without giving her at least a little back. And if it was just their names.

  
"What did you guys do? Who are these people after you?" He didn´t have time for the whole story right now, goddammit! But he couldn´t leave her like that.

  
"The BSAA. You know the organization against bioterror? Was working for it. Piers as well. Long story short: Piers got infected and they want him dead. I´m making sure they don´t get their dirty hands on him."

  
Feeling himself growing more and more impatient, he once more stood up which caused Patricia to do the same as well.  
"An infected was in my house?!" Immediately Chris covered her mouth, luckily this time no one seemed to have heard her.  
"Piers is fully aware of what he´s doing. He´s..." -not infected. He is. He is not. Anymore. The denial he still wasn´t over. The question he still had no answer to.

  
Patricia pushed him away and took a deep breath before taking a step forward again, towards him. "So all these lies with the cooking accident and everything... I should have known. Alyssa told me 'Ricky' told her it was an explosion in the gas station. These scares."

  
They kept staring each other down. Chris knew they were as good as dead if Patricia decided to turn sides on them now.  
"Patricia. I am sorry it had to come this way. And I´m sorry for leaving now as well. But that´s exactly what I´m gonna do. I´ll get Piers and I´ll get out of Bearcreek. No one... touches him. Not on my watch."

  
"I´m sorry as well... Chris." He sucked in the air upon hearing her sharp tone. She couldn´t...

  
"But I will have to do something about this." Her green, firm eyes never gave him a break, always seeking contact to his. "I´m sorry I fell for your lies. And I´m sorry for myself that I started to feel something... for you."

  
Chris never meant to break her heart. That wasn´t him. All he ever wanted was to get out of this godforsaken village and get Piers into safety. Wherever that was these days...

  
"..." For a moment he thought about his chances to just run and find the sniper plus their trailer. They were grim. He had no idea if Piers was home and if they were still being watched.

  
"I..." Suddenly Patrica started talking again and her gaze dropped to the floor. "... give you 20 minutes..."

  
Looking up again, he saw the sad smile on her face and he understood. With a determined nod, the former soldier sprinted out of the building in the direction of the Hanson´s.


	15. Desperate Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, just a quick update about my life, yay...  
> So, exams are coming closer. And with closer, I mean real fucking close. As in right around the corner- and I tried to procrastinate for as long as possible.   
> I rarely will be able to find the time anymore to write.   
> But fear not! As a clever girl, I have a ton of chapters already written and waiting to be published. Around the same amount we already got. FD
> 
> So effectively, there´s nothing gonna change for you guys, updates will continue to come regularly every weekend. I just feel the need to voice my concerns x'D Both for my exams and... the fear that I´ll lose interest once that period of time is over and I can write again. I mean, it happened to me before that I lost interest after abandoning a story... But Vagabond really became dear to me and has a special place in my heart so just know that I have every intention of bringing this bad boy to the end that it deserved!~

"Chris Redfield!" He froze dead in his tracks just as he was about to pass the last alleyway before the outskirts would come into reach and the buildings were about to get less.

  
No one in this village was supposed to know his name besides Patricia, Billy, and Piers. First and latter couldn´t be the source and looking around the corner, he could eliminate choice 2 as well.

  
Of course. It had to come to this. There, at the end of the alleyway that was so dark even in bright daylight, stood a single male person. Black leather jacket, run-down jeans with boots.

  
Short, really short, blondish-red hair. Ice blue eyes. Scar on the left cheek.

  
Jake Muller.

  
"..." Chris felt like frozen to the ground. He should run. He should get away. He should maybe try to talk to Jake and convince him to let them go. He should do a million things but keep standing there.

  
"So, Redfield..." Jake had already become a part of the BSAA when Piers was still in his coma. Him helping to create an antidote for the C-virus from his blood got the BSAA practically on their knees, begging for him to join. The kid still didn´t care much for others but he liked money way too much to decline.

  
In a way, Chris felt torn. Jake´s blood saved Piers as well. Such irony. Jake helped Piers survive. And now he was here to bring him back to his grave. Not if Chris could help it...

  
"I´m just asking you once. Where´s the puppy?" There was no emotion in the mercenary´s voice whatsoever. Too much like Wesker. Chris forced that useless thought away. Now was not the time to crouch in the shadows of the past.  
Jake drew his gun and reloaded it without a care in the world. Chris couldn´t run. Jake would get him. And the kid had proven before that he wouldn´t hesitate to shoot him.

  
"I don´t know where you´re coming from now... Jake. But Piers´ dead. He rejected your blood and the virus killed him.", Chris shrugged. Like he mentioned before, he wasn´t a good liar. But at least the adrenaline managed to cover it up a little.  
"You wouldn´t talk so lightly about it.", the younger one grinned cockily and began to slowly strode over to the man that killed his father. "If that´s so... why didn´t you come back to HQ if the C-virus freak bit the dust?"

  
"Thought people would be salty that I fucked them over..." He got nervous. Too nervous. He had no means of defending himself. No gun, no weapon. And Jake had his ready. So no combat as well. Even if, Jake was too good at combat, Chris mused rationally. Jake would kill him. Literally.

  
Muller gave a little chuckle and crossed the last distance over to Chris, pressing the cold barrel of the gun to his forehead in a way too familiar manner.

  
"Your strategy was sloppy as fuck. It was easy following your trail. Buying a trailer, lifting off money from your bank account. Leaving little hints here and there... You´ve never done that on the run thing before, now did you, Redfield?"

  
"..." Chris knew it was smarter to keep his mouth shut. Another 'Go ahead, shoot' would probably not go as lucky as last time.  
The situation was different. In China, Chris couldn´t have cared less if Jake would have actually killed him. He had been battered with his post-traumatic amnesia, not giving a fuck in the world if he´d been wiped off the face of the earth. He blamed himself for the death of his whole entire team. Twice.

  
But now he had a reason. He´d have to stay alive to get Piers out of here. He couldn´t kick the bucket. Not if Piers was so close to doing the same.

  
"Cat got you tongue?" He felt the pressure leaving his forehead and Jake took a step back so Chris could actually see down the barrel of the gun. Jake knew what he was doing. This was a way of mental torture. Even Chris knew that.  
"Piers and I are not the bad ones here, Jake..."

  
"We never had that talk about my father..." Jake sighed as if he was bored and could think of a million better things to do right now. He blocked the attempt of coaxing him in immediately, recognizing it at exactly that. "After this, you might want to join him in hell-!"

  
The impact from the shovel to his head got Jake collapsing on the stone cold ground instantly. He revealed the sight to the person standing behind him. Relaxed, totally at ease as if he didn´t just send a guy to sweet dreams, stood Billy Coen, letting the shovel lean against his shoulder and taking a long drag from his cigarette.

  
"Goddamn, Redfield. What part of 'Don´t get into trouble' do you not understand?!"

  
Without paying much attention to the new arrival, Chris got to his knees and took the gun Jake had and checked it. 3 bullets. Pathetic.

  
Just for karma, he checked Jake´s pulse as well. He´d live. He might feel like dying if he woke up but... otherwise, he´d live.  
"Redfield, I´m talking with you!" Just now did Chris pay attention to him and got up to his feet again.  
"Thanks for that, Billy. But you´re getting into things you can´t handle. Go home." He was already about to leave but Billy stopped him.

  
"You blew your cover?!" "I might have. That´s why I´m getting Piers and then we´re gone."  
Billy sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair, still smoking in between.

  
"Fine. Be more careful next time. Good luck..." Now it was Billy that turned away, obviously knowing about the pain of being in hiding. He knew they would have to get away fast. He knew that this man on the ground would be looking for whoever knocked him down as well once he woke up. Knew that this was their cue to both get the hell out of here.

  
"If I... see Rebecca again, I´ll tell her you asked about her wellbeing." Chris didn´t know why but he felt like Billy needed to hear that. Of course, there was no way he could send her here. Their own organization wasn´t to be trusted anymore. They would tail her. And they would find Billy in the process.

  
"Not necessary." Billy gave a dismissive wave while continuing to walk away, way too calm for the situation. "Tell her instead Billy Coen is long dead. She should know though. Dave Blair asked about her!"

 

  
\-----------

 

  
The moment Piers heard his voice, the sniper knew something had gone incredibly fast to shit.  
After they had come home, Alyssa had first locked herself in her room for more than an hour before actually leaving the house to 'go for a walk'. Piers felt horribly guilty for having done that to her. But Alyssa wasn´t the one.

  
With Patricia having left the house for some time now as well, Piers had gone outside, into the garden just to hide in the trailer. This place, he knew better than anything. It felt like home.

  
And now he heard Chris' voice approaching rapidly. It sounded so.. in panic. Frowning, the sniper opened the door of the old vehicle and looked outside just in time to see Chris how he jumped over the gate, not even going through the effort of opening it. He came sprinting towards him like a BOW was on the loose.

  
"Piers! Get your shit from the house! We´re leaving, now!"

  
"What do you mean?" What the hell was even going on? This morning everything had been fine and now...  
"The BSAA is on us, they found us!" Piers´ reaction was the same like Chris and he felt his throat tightening from the fear of being finally caught.

  
"It was Jake, he almost got me, but I´m pretty fucking sure he´s not alone on our tail...", Chris continued and took the last few steps over to Piers and grabbed his shoulders.

  
"Jake..." Piers had thought that the kid might have changed. He did in a way. Without him, Piers would still be a crippling, disgusting mess. But he made it pretty clear, however, that Jake didn´t really give two shits about anyone but the Birkin girl.  
"Yeah, Billy helped but... like I said, get our things from the house, I´m starting up this old baby." He let go of the sniper and walked past him, inside the trailer. The vehicle hadn´t been moved in two weeks. And for a normal car that would probably lead to no problems. But this one... had been a problem ever since they got it.

  
Without another word, the younger one turned and approached the white, unremarkable house and pushed the back door open in a hurry. Looking left and right, he made sure no one was here. Sneaking up the stairs like a real sniper, Piers pushed open the door to the guest room. Grabbing the bag they had 'borrowed' from a clothing store once, he proceeded to stuff all their clothing and other things in there.

  
"..." Looking around the room, he found that he had everything except for one thing. Turning towards the bed, his eyes softened.

  
The bear with gray scarf and red pullover sat there as if being afraid of getting left behind.

  
"Don´t worry... We´ll be fine." It felt ridiculous talking to a stuffed animal but Piers knew he needed all the calming words himself now.

  
Turning around and about to leave the room with bag and teddy in hand, the door practically blew up in his face, Alyssa standing there suddenly out of nowhere.

  
"..." "So you wanted to fuck off without telling me?"  
"I couldn´t tell you." "What, why?"

  
"I already broke your heart once." Dropping his gaze to the floor, the only thing he really wanted right now was to just leave. Maybe it really would have been better if they never knew... If they never came here.

  
"You did. Indeed." Standing tall, she got that same hateful look on her face like her mother. He and Chris really screwed a family over, he just realized.

  
Suddenly, she lunged at him and Piers really feared for her wrath for a second. Letting the items in his hands fall to the floor, the young soldier tried to get in a position to defend himself in. But he never needed to.

  
Wrapping him in a strong hug, Alyssa began to cry and Piers was totally unable to progress the situation.

  
"I´m sorry...", he finally let out after some time and she squeezed him closer, shaking her head while doing so. "I-It´s okay. I´m just hoping... that you guys will be safe! And... at least write sometime so I know you´re fine..." Her voice was weak and riddled with sobs so it was hard for Piers to understand what she was saying.

  
"Yeah... will do...", he smiled sadly and pushed her a little away to be able to look in her eyes. "You know... you made me realize something, though." His hands found her shoulders and he bent slightly forward to see her face, his own now wearing a much happier expression.

  
"What is that...?" She sounded better already as she wiped her own tears away with her long sleeve.  
"That you have to be true to yourself if you like someone... and towards that person as well."

  
She looked at him with big eyes as if she still had a bit of hope and once again Piers felt horrible crushing her dreams, but maybe it helped to make her understand that it wasn´t her fault...

  
"I, Piers Nivans,..." He needed her to know his name. No more lies. "... am horribly in love with Chris, that other random guy hanging around your house the last weeks."

  
"Chris...?", she repeated and looked in the direction of the staircase leading to the first floor as if taking a moment to understand that was Richard´s real name.  
"Yeah, Alyssa. Sorry, but I love him more than anything..."

  
Her gaze came to meet his again and after a long second, she began to smile. "So that´s why it obviously didn´t work out. You could have said you´re gay before, so I wouldn´t have started crushing on you."

  
Gay. Piers didn´t like the word. Used to at least. Ever since high school, though, he started to think differently than all the gay propaganda his dad was dishing out towards all directions.

  
"Y-yeah..." It was hard to admit it to anyone but himself. But somehow he managed.  
"But that´s awesome.", she suddenly started and Piers felt more and more the time in his neck. He couldn´t talk with Alyssa about his crush. Not now...

  
"You should totally get this man... Piers." It was as if she didn´t care anymore and Piers inwardly asked himself if she was one of these weird 'fangirls' you find on the internet all the time... Maybe she was just happy for him.

  
"Well-..."

  
"Am I interrupting anything?" A sudden cough and the rough voice made them both turn towards the door, in which stood Chris. Oh no...

  
Piers blushed in embarrassment and couldn´t hold back a nervous squeak. How long had Chris listened to the things they were saying?! If he heard that then...

  
The veteran pushed himself off the doorframe, arms still crossed in front of his chest though, and approached them with a serious expression. "I´m sorry to have to rush your goodbye but we really have to go..."

  
Both of them nodded understandingly and Alyssa sighed lightly. "Alright... go now, I´m making sure Mom and I are fine."  
Piers bent down to take a hold of his stuff again and nodded once more. "Maybe we can still send text messages, right? ...Goodbye, Alyssa." With that, he hesitated and pressed a kiss to her cheek before leaving the room without checking if Chris was following.

  
Said one raised an eyebrow at the last gesture. Must be hard for the boy...

  
"Don´t get jealous, Richard... Chris.", she smiled weakly and took a step closer to him, reaching for his hands.

  
"Piers loves you." Her words came out in a happy cheering and Chris´ eyes widened as he looked down at the girl. W-What...? Had she just said...? "He told me.", she added, seeing his disbelieving look and it just added to the racing of his heartbeat and his reddening face.

  
He told her what?

  
"I-I really don´t know... what to say to this..." It was so unlike him to stutter but how could he not, hearing this?

  
"It´s fine. You don´t have to say anything... You would have made a great father though, a good... husband for mom..." Alyssa let go off his hands and gestured for him to leave as well. "Get going now. I don´t want you guys to get caught!"

  
She giggled and Chris joined with a smile. "Yeah..." He turned away and started walking, just stopping in his tracks when he reached the door, throwing a last look over his shoulder.

  
"Hey, Alyssa." Looking up, he had her full attention. "By the way, you should start considering Tony as a better father figure. He actually really likes your mom. See if you can set these two up."

  
Not looking back from there on out, Chris hurried down the stairs and out the backdoor. He stumbled multiple times over the uneven grass before reaching their trailer. He saw Piers waiting in front of it, already having packed all their stuff inside, and Chris hurriedly got in and on the driver´s seat.

  
"I´m taking care of the gate!", the younger one shouted, still calm, still collected. Keeping a cool head just like on the battlefield. He rushed over to the gray fence and opened it for Chris to drive off the property. Closing it after the trailer passed through as if it never stood on the Hanson´s lawn, he got in as well and sank into the passenger´s seat as his older partner hit the road again.

  
Naturally, they didn´t know where to go, once more. The most important thing right now was to get as far away from Bearcreek as possible. Bring distance between them. Sounded horribly familiar...

  
"So Jake, huh?" It was Pier´s desperate attempt at making conversation. Seemed like for the next time, they would be just stuck with each other again. Piers didn´t mind it, of course. It was nice to spend time with other people as well but with Chris, he just clicked. The sniper didn´t need to keep talking with Chris, the silence was a part of their relationship that was rarely awkward. It was just that right now he needed to talk, needed to hear his partner´s voice to reassure him that everything was okay, they were still together.

  
"Yeah, he´s BSAA now, remember? I wouldn´t know why they would send him, though. Maybe he was just the first one to scream that he would love to kick our asses..."

  
"Probably..."

  
"But he´s not alone. Patricia said she saw someone with brunette hair. And I mean, it is easy to mix Jake´s hair color with brunette from a long distance but... I still think that would be stupid from them to just send one person."

  
Piers pulled the stuffed teddy from the festival from under his seat and sat it on his lap, letting his eyes glide over it and Chris found himself staring for some long seconds before he had to remind himself to watch the road.

  
"So Bearcreek wasn´t our final destination after all..."

  
"No..." Chris answered quiet, hearing the disappointment in his protege´s voice. "It wasn´t..."


	16. Birthday Surprise

_3\. state: South Dakota, 24th of October 2013_

 

  
Another week...

  
It was his birthday. The thought left a bitter taste in Piers´ mouth the moment he woke up. He wished he could have celebrated it somewhere else. Not in this stinky trailer in the middle of nowhere. In a way, he wished he could have celebrated it with Alyssa and all the others in Bearcreek he´d grown to love a little.

  
27 fucking years old...

  
A few months ago it looked like he´d never even reach it...

  
Tossing around in the sheets, the sniper was sliding his hands across the blankets in search of something. Finally, his fingertips made contact with the fluffy item and wrapped around it, pulling it close.

  
"Bearfield..."

  
He´d named the bear like this now, not really sure if Chris knew but it didn´t matter. The stuffed bear came to rest in his arms and Piers rolled to his side once more. It was already bright outside but he still felt somewhat tired and thought about just dozing off again.

  
"You called?" Unfortunately, Chris was long awake and now strolled closer to the bed, bringing his palms on the surface and leaned in close to his partner.

  
"Not you, Chris...", Piers moaned in slight annoyance and pulled the blanket over his head. Today would be one of these days, huh?

  
"Some days will be easier than others. And some will be worse..." Picking up on the down mood of Piers, Chris sat down on the edge of the bed. Piers could tell without even looking, feeling like the old, uncomfortable couch gave a squeak and dipped under the older one´s weight.

  
Next, he felt a warm and gentle pressure through the sheets rubbing up and down his back and he couldn´t hold back a chuckle. He and Chris had become more casual with... touching. It was rarely awkward now and both seemed to pull strength out of the everyday hugs or touching that happened daily now.

  
Piers let the sheets, covering his face, drop a little and he was confronted with Chris being damn close, the other having now laid down as well and was observing his facial expression. They both laid like this for some time, never breaking eye contact.  
"Hey...", Chris suddenly whispered and pulled a little box from under the bed, slowly sliding it towards Piers with a smile. "I know it´s not much but... Happy Birthday, puppy."

  
Said one´s eyes widened a little as they kept shifting from Chris over to the small, red box and back. "You know.", he whispered back and it was more like a statement than a question.

  
"Your files laid on my desk for over half a year before I got to clean up my office. I basically stared every day at your personal data and cute face." Finally, Piers´eyes decided where to stay and it was when they met these chocolate brown orbs. Cute face...?

  
Cute face?!

  
"Open it." Chris gestured him to hurry as he still pushed the box a little closer and broke his train of thoughts. Eagerly, he did as he was told.

  
"I... didn´t really find the time to buy you anything with the stress of... getting chased. So I thought I give something to you... back, something with a great emotional meaning for me. I´ll make it up to you later with some real presents."

  
Removing the lid from the box, Piers was greeted with four red letters staring back at him. Four red letters that once meant the world to him.

  
"Chris..."

  
"It´s kinda ironic, isn´t it? Maybe it was a little tasteless to give you your old badge now that they want nothing more than... you gone."

  
"It´s not... tasteless..." Whispering, the sniper pulled the piece of fabric out of its confinements and eyed it for a moment. There was still blood on it. His blood. It started to fade out but what was still left until now would probably stay.

  
"It reminds me of better days..." "When you decided to inject yourself with liquid death?" Chris threw him a flat stare and it got Piers to roll his eyes, finally sitting up to be able to see more detail on his old badge. Things he never even noticed before. Like the little white feathers at the bottom of it, just below the globe symbol.

  
"No, like when you recruited me."

  
"These were good days, alright." The former Captain now sat up as well, watching Piers watching the only thing he had left of said one on this grim July morning.

  
"...I wish they would come to their senses, Chris.." The younger one´s expression darkened as he dragged his thumb over the fabric and Chris actually felt relieved at the statement. It was weird, it should get him just as angry as Piers but... it was a huge step for his second-in-command to stop blaming this all on himself but seeing that he did nothing wrong. Other people were in the wrong.

  
Before Chris could really answer though, Piers' head turned towards him and he seemed a little lighter. "I´m actually impressed you still have it."

  
"Are you kidding me? Of course, I have it. I thought you were gone for good!" With that, the older one leaned forwards and wrapped Piers in a hug which got them both losing their balance and fall back into the bed with a tired squeak emerging from it. The box with the badge somewhere forgotten between sheets.

  
"Don´t ever do that again..." "Won´t, promise..." 

  
Slowly Piers looked up at Chris, still having indeed very less space, being wrapped in the Captain´s arms like this.

  
"..."

  
Chris was still in his nightwear, just like Piers was, making it a little strange at first when bare legs met and then, eventually, tangled together. Goddamn, even Chris´ legs were muscular as hell. Suddenly, being so close to his crush, Piers got horribly self-aware. A million things seemed to go through his head that he managed to catch up. Like the radio from the front still quietly playing in the background, it didn´t really help that it started to play slow love songs.

  
The way Chris gave a little carefree snort and smiled in his face, that was so damn close... The other one looked so happy right now. Like the horrors of the past weren´t there anymore. Like they finally got enough distance away from them and there was no way they could ever catch up with Chris, or him for the matter, ever again.

  
Piers shifted his weight in a sudden burst of courage and crawled on top of the other, looking down at him. Was that going too far already? Not that he would stop. Breaking eye contact with Chris, that still looked at him with an emotionless expression like he was waiting for him to do something, Piers let himself rest against his partner´s chest and buried his face in the crook of Chris' neck. Said one let out a hitched breath.

  
Piers knew that scent better than any other. When there was a mission that takes roughly around two days to two weeks, crawling through dirt and BOW guts without any shower in sight, men tend to start to smell. Alpha Team wasn´t an exception, of course. But still, Piers never thought of Chris´ scent as disgusting or anything. Maybe it was the hormones leading him on but it always made the sniper feel very secure, knowing that the man carrying it would have his back no matter what.

  
Basically, Chris had that typical 'man scent' like Piers called it. Musky, wild, he loved it.

  
Sneaking his arms around the older man, he felt muscle. Quickly changing his plans of just keeping hugging the other man, Piers rather went with touching for now and as soon as he worked up the courage and slid over Chris´ upper body, even if there was still a thin layer of fabric restricting him from actually touching it, said one gave a surprised yelp but relaxed into the touch.

  
For a moment that´s just how it was. Him having his nose pressed to the jawline of Chris while his hands felt, explored every little detail of skin underneath clothes. Occasionally, a grunt from Chris which began to sound more and more desperate as time passed.

  
And that´s where Piers went wrong. He couldn´t read the signs. And suddenly two powerful arms shot up at his sides and pulled him in even closer, bodies pressed flush together.

  
"...!" Piers could literally feel everything. From the exposed skin of their stomach touching hence to their shirts sliding up between them, all the way to Chris starting to nibble at his earlobe. Not the mention heat that was growing in flush pressed together briefs.

  
For a moment, Piers weighted his chances like he often did. He had the bad habit to think too much about things before doing them. He wouldn´t let it get between them this time.

  
Deciding to return the favor, the tactical sniper darted out his tongue and gave a shy lick to Chris´ neck. Piers wasn´t really sure what exactly he was doing here but Chris seemed to like it. He started to move his arms all over the younger one´s back, at least the upper part, lower he didn´t dare to go yet, stroking it lovingly. Eventually, his hands sneaked under Piers´ shirt and explored.

  
"Ngh...", was the only sound Piers let out otherwise trying to keep any noise inside.

  
They didn´t get far, unfortunately as his left hand encountered scars. Countless ones of them. Chris couldn´t see them but very much feel them. Unregular patterns grazed the Lieutenant's skin and Chris frowned as he let his fingertips travel over them for the few seconds Piers granted him before he pulled away and sat up again.

  
"..."

  
Propping himself up on his elbows, Chris tried to establish eye contact with Piers again but he turned away and slid over to the edge of the bed, trying to bring as much space between himself and Chris as fast as possible.

  
"Look, It´s okay. This is okay, Piers." He reached for the Lieutenant's wrist and luckily made it just in time to get a hold of it. It was Piers´ right one though and once more he made contact with the skin that was still so angrily red swollen and marred.   
And the sniper looked at him as if he had just insulted Mrs. Nivans herself.

  
"I-I´m sorry for that...", the Captain just mumbled as an apology.

  
Piers was so damn worked up over these scars and in a way, Chris could understand him, of course. But it was damn frustrating to be not allowed to touch him just because Piers couldn´t deal with the way he looked now. After everything, Chris would have thought Piers trusted him a little more with that.

  
Then again, the sniper wasn´t to blame either. Chris never was infected. The first few days after Piers had woken up, the only thing he would talk with Chris was about how disgusted he was at himself. And Chris had seen other soldiers with battle scars. The most dangerous thing about them weren´t the physical injuries... It was what they leave inside your head.

  
"It´s alright, just... let go now, Chris." He sounded oddly collected and calm for the fact that he just looked like he´d have a PTSD attack.

  
Following the other request, even if slightly hesitant, Chris dropped his gaze to the floor and heaved a silent sigh. It was still such a long way to recovery. Maybe for both of them.

  
"So what´s planned for today?" The younger one always had that ability to switch back to business like turning on a switch. Like nothing just happened between them.

  
"Dunno, it´s your birthday after all. Tell me something, we´re gonna do it."

  
Piers continued to look at him for a second before turning his head away and suddenly intently observing their kitchen sink.

"Fishing."

  
"Fishing?" Not that Chris complained. He had wanted to teach Piers that for some time now, he just wondered where that just came from. "I mean... we can do that. I do believe I remember some fishing poles in the back of this baby. We would need baits though..."

  
"I´m sure we could find some in the city." His partner replied and Chris nodded in agreement. By now they didn´t even bother reading the name signs of the cities or villages they pass by or through anymore. It had been too many over time, too many to count.

  
Both of them finished their morning routine half an hour later and met in front of the trailer where Piers had already been waiting for the older man.

  
"There you go, finally.", he mocked in that sassy tone of his that he mastered too well. Chris just waved it off with a grin as he locked the trailer and turned in the direction of their goal.


	17. Fishing Trip

  
They had parked their trailer in the outskirts of a big city. Even though it was so enormous, the area they were in was calm, almost dead considering the amount of people that had to live here.

  
Staggering off the meadow where they stood, Chris and Piers soon found the surfaced road again that led them through two days ago. Walking for around another ten minutes, buildings, cars, and people piled up.

  
This city was nice, Piers had to admit. It wasn´t too loud and gray like maybe New York, to state the obvious example. It was still green with a lot of trees but on the other hand boomed with life. Finally reaching the mall, the young sniper did bother to eventually pick up the name of this town as he read the welcome sign above their heads.

  
"Watertown Mall..."

  
"´S a nice name.", Chris shrugged, obviously not as much interested in getting to know where they exactly were. Piers suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at him and entered with Chris following.

  
This thing was huge. At least three stories tall and with everything you could think of. And like fate wanted it, there was even a shop for fishing equipment. Then again, it wasn´t that far of a stretch. Not having seen much of the landscape around it, Piers and Chris could still already tell that there were a lot of lakes, small ones, big ones. Now Piers could even better understand the name Watertown.

  
"So...", Piers started a little helplessly as he looked around the shop and stood in front of a shelf. There were so many, how-... A hand came to rest on the small of his back in an already familiar manner and Piers relaxed, knowing it was Chris. Said one appeared in the corner of his eyes a second later.

  
"Hey, Piers...", he hummed quietly but with a smirk and the Lieutenant knew from the tone that something was... off. "Choosing a bait is pretty boring. How about you let me do it and look around for some more fluffy stuff. Like blankets and pillows. Winter is pretty much just around the corner and the trailer is gonna get cold as hell very soon."

  
It was obvious that Chris wanted him away for some odd reason and Piers was too clever to not know it was because of his birthday. He felt like responding with a biting remark, yet at the same time the mental image, of him and Chris having to cuddle to share body heat and stay warm in winter, was too much to still bring out sentences that sounded somewhat intelligent.

  
"...On my way..." Chris´ eyes followed him with the uttermost surprise. The puppy usually rarely gave in like that. What was he thinking?

 

  
\----------------

 

  
Buy all the pillows.  
Buy all the blankets.

  
Finding a place that sold furniture and decoration was easy, choosing what exactly to buy... not so much.   
It was a well-known fact about Piers Nivans that he got cold easily. And that he hated nothing more. So now he stood here, in front of him a million different versions of bed wear. Some of the sheets even had little puppies on them. Damn...

  
He probably spent more than half an hour pacing up and down the same lane, just now starting to ask himself how much would Chris allow him to buy. Winter would sure become cold, so... Once again he forced his thoughts away as his phone gave a buzz. It wasn´t even from Chris though.

  
_11:35 a.m._   
_From: Alyssa_   
_Heya, so how are ya doing? I hope the cops didn´t get you yet._

 

Piers lightly rolled his eyes.

 

_11:35 a.m._   
_To: Alyssa_   
_They are no cops! Anyways, we´re doing fine. We´ve made it to South Dakota, hoping they won´t find us that easily this time. What are you up to?_

 

_11:37 a.m._   
_From: Alyssa_   
_The usual stuff. Working in a shitty diner as a part-timer, pushing cows over, you know, what country kids do._   
_Being a little lonely too..._   
_But on a good note, today something happened that... creeped me out. Kinda made me happy but... mainly creeped me out._

 

The sniper slightly chuckled, sensing how desperate she wanted him to ask. He did her the favor.

 

_11:39 a.m._   
_To: Alyssa_   
_So tell me?_

 

_11:41 a.m._   
_From: Alyssa_   
_This morning I walk through our corridor, thinking nothing bad, making my way over to the bathroom... then I ran into Tony whICH JUST CAME OUT OF MY MOM´S BeDROOM!!1_   
_like can you believe this?!_

 

Of course, he could. Even to him, it had been clear as day that Tony had a thing for Patricia. After Chris, the 'potential thread', vanished, it would only make sense that Tony would finally go ahead and take his chance for confessing. And maybe Patricia was just so tired of being alone as well.

 

_11:43 a.m._   
_To: Alyssa_   
_So I can. But aren´t you happy about it? Tony is a nice guy and he was already close to your family before this. In a way, nothing´s going to chance. Just the fact that you earned yourself a father! ;D_

 

God, Piers snorted at himself actually using something like emoticons... But Alyssa could understand and probably liked them. Not like Chris, who didn´t even fucking know how to read them!

  
_11:44 a.m._   
_From: Alyssa_   
_...Thank you, Piers <3 _

  
Was all she wrote in her last reply and Piers couldn´t hold back a grin as he saw her having used his real name. She´d be fine. She´ll always be fine.

  
"I thought I asked you to look for stuff, not to text with the Hanson´s daughter."

  
Once again that hand on his back. One of these days he´d get a heart attack.  
"Yeah, I did exactly that...!", Piers hissed out while turning around to see Chris´ face. Why did he have to sneak up on him? Again, like in the fishing shop?

  
"The past five minutes you just stood here and stared down on your phone like an addict." Wait, how long did Chris just stand there and looked at him? How bad were his sniper senses getting?

  
"Well, we had an important conversation." "I see...", Chris waved off once again and just now did Piers notice the paper bag the older one was carrying as it gently swayed back and forth from the motion. That... was a rather large bag for just a few fishing baits.

  
His curiosity getting the better of him, Piers leaned forwards as to see in it but the second he got too close, Chris automatically took the same amount of steps back.

  
"No, don´t.~ You´ll have enough time left on your birthday to receive all your presents, 'babe'."

  
The younger one pouted and Chris knew the reaction rather well. Piers used to do it often when he was a rookie, it was... adorable. Laying an arm around his partner, that earned him unexpected yelp from the strength Chris had, he pulled him close and pretended to think hard about the blankets while staring at them.

  
"Let´s take the one´s with the puppies!"

  
"There are teddies as well, Chris..."

  
"Yeah, but those are for kids."

  
"I really don´t think the puppies are any better...!"

  
Piers didn´t like to admit it but in the end, besides some nice comfortable pillows, they left the store with two fluffy blankets: Teddies and puppies... The look of the cashier almost murdered him.

 

  
\------------

 

  
Still holding that mysterious paper bag with his left hand, Chris was fast the stash the rest of his money back in his wallet. Which looked impressive and damn talented with just one hand. And in addition to that, it was his right, damaged one. God, if these fingers would work Piers...

  
"So how much do we still have?" To hush these dark thoughts away as soon as possible, Piers hurried to Chris´ side as they left the mall and smiled. The warm sunlight made it easy to do so. The city seemed to be so bright and happy on that day, as they passed by, Piers thought. Sure, it was getting close to winter and it was cold but heading south was also making it still warmer than in Montana.

  
"Enough.", Chris replied shortly and looked straight ahead while pushing the old, leather wallet back in the pocket of his pants.

  
Piers knew that they were on better terms than before, because of all the money Chris had earned from working for Patricia. With Chris having no way to reach his money anymore, they would have to watch out a little in the next time. That or Chris would have to start working again. The question was if anyone would be so chill like Patricia about him basically having no proof of his identity or just existence.

  
"That´s calming." If it would go Piers´ way, Chris wouldn´t even have to buy him something for his birthday. It wasn´t that big of a day anyway...

  
His parents already celebrated his birthday meekly. Sometimes his mom would bake him a cake. And usually, his gifts were small. Like a book or a board game. No consoles or cell phones like for other kids.

  
His parents had more children than him and a farm. His mother had other things to do, better things. She had to take care of the farm, it was her hobby after all. Father didn´t want anything to do with it. With him working in the army and rarely being at home, he couldn´t have cared less too. As long as Mom could hold all these animals alone, could feed them. As long as his money was enough, Jonathan couldn´t care less.

  
And the money was enough. Just not so much that he could get expensive things. And Piers had been fine with that because on these days his siblings would love him dearly as would his mom. Just his father´s seat at the table would always be empty.   
Without Piers noticing much, they had walked most of the way. The buildings were already getting smaller and the surroundings greener. The sniper repositioned the white, big plastic bag he was carrying and swung it over his shoulder to be able to carry the blankets better like this.

  
It collided with his back and Piers´eyes went wide when it hit a weak spot. He calculated it wrong...  
It was hard to explain for the young Lieutenant but sometimes, without a reason, he still felt some parts that the virus was once possessing kinda unstable. It was the same feeling when you had a tiresome day and your knees gave up under you and buckled.

  
And he had just hit one of the scars as well, sending a stinging feeling through the marred tissue of skin from beginning to end.

  
"Thn...!" Hissing between clenched teeth, Piers stopped in his tracks and slightly bent over as his hands gripped the bag so hard around the handle, his knuckles turned white.

  
"Piers?!" Being on his partner´s side in a heartbeat, Chris pried the bag from the younger one´s hand, discarded it somewhere on the gravel path next to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. He couldn´t see the sniper´s face as he continued to turn it away from him.

  
"What is it? You feeling alright?" Well, obviously not but Piers had the bad habit to hide when he was in pain, all the time, even on missions when it would be important to know about such things. That always annoyed the living hell out of Chris and even now he didn´t count with the truth, to be fully honest.

  
"It´ll do...", Piers waved dismissingly while standing upright again and even looking Chris in the eye again even if his smile was fake and weak.

  
"What was the problem?" The veteran kept pressing while he let his hands slide off him. He´d kept talking so long about this shit until Piers wouldn´t have a choice anymore.

  
"I don´t know. I kinda just got weak for a moment, but like I said I´ll live." As to prove his point he approached the luggage again to keep walking but Chris was faster to reach it, now carrying his and Piers´ load at the same time.

  
"Don´t give me that!" From where they stood, they could already see the trailer and Piers begun walking towards it with a sigh. How could he explain to Chris that he was still a weak mess sometimes?

  
Waiting for Chris to unlock the door, he started to try at least. "The bag hit a weird spot on my back. It was where one of the bigger scars run through. And sometimes even just touching these scars 'spawns' the virus and then... sometimes it pulses electricity or sometimes, like now, I just get weak in the knees and almost fall over..."

  
"It still has control over you..." Chris stated matter-of-factly as he let Piers inside and closed the door behind him. The sniper just shook his head.

  
"Not exactly. Maybe the virus is still there, I don´t know. What I do know is that the doctors said it´s inactive. It doesn´t have any power over me anymore. Maybe it´s his way to revolt and rebel like a little kid that got its candy denied..." Was he seriously still considering this thing 'alive'... with a mind of its own...?

  
He took a seat on the kitchen table and rested his head in his hands. He really didn´t know anything anymore.

  
"Hey, Piers..." The familiar voice of his partner reached his ear right before the older one sat down right next to him. "You´re the only one who ever came back from such a strong mutation... with merely a few scars. You beat this thing. You got this thing running and screaming. And that´s why you don´t have to be scared of it at all." An arm came to lay around his shoulders and Piers knew Chris was right. Didn´t change anything about his symptom pain and the self-doubts though. It was a beginning but... not more than that.

  
"Yeah, well, let´s talk about this again when I strangle you in your sleep one of these days..."

  
"You wouldn´t."

  
"I wouldn´t! C would." With that, the sniper pushed himself to his feet again, passed Chris and made his way to the back of the trailer.

  
"Where did you say you saw these damn things the last time?"  
"..." Giving an exhausted sigh, Chris followed his protege to get the fishing poles.

 

  
\--------------------------------

 

  
"Are you sure I´m doing this right?" Chris threw another glance over to Piers and stopped in his motion to tie his own knot around the bait, to give a low hum. He inched closer to the other´s side, not caring that sliding over the slightly moist grass with jeans was probably a bad idea.

  
"This far, yeah. Now you gotta swing it over there and then down below the noose you created." Piers´ confused gaze set on him from the corner of his eyes and Chris dropped his own bait plus pole and string next to himself with a chuckle. "Here, let me help you..."

  
Reaching over to the bait in Piers´ hands, their fingers touched and Piers´ breath hitched from the gentleness Chris´ showed as he fiddled the thread around the bright orange plastic bait. "There you go." The sniper looked up in the exact same moment Chris decided to do the same and hazel met brown.

  
"..."

  
Piers, however, decided that it wasn´t the time and ripped himself rather easily away from the image and looked down at his bait again.

  
"It... isn´t that much of a difficult knot once you get it down.", Chris shrugged in hope to get the awkwardness to leave.  
"I guess so..." Shifting his gaze once more, Piers´ eyes laid on the small lake they discovered maybe around 10 minutes away from their trailer. They had now completely left the city and trees and high grass surrounded them on both sides.

  
They had set up a small camp, containing a big blanket they dropped over the grass, on that two small lunch packets together with a bottle of water. Well, and the mysterious paper bag Chris still hadn´t lost a word about.   
It was barely two or three hours after noon but the sun hung already pretty low anyway.

  
"Alright, now we would just need to get them out there." Chris pushed himself to his feet and took a hold of his pole. "Okay, so a lot of beginners try to throw the bait like a frisbee. But different like maybe skipping a stone," Chris gave a grin towards Piers that melted his heart, "you throw it vertical." As to demonstrate it, he took a firm stand and lifted the pole over his head so the string was behind his back. Then, with a swift movement, he pulled his arms forwards towards the water and the bait flew a remarkable distance before colliding with the surface and stopping peaceful in motion.

  
It felt like the skipping stone lesson all over again and that got a smile to Piers´ lips before he copied Chris´ actions almost perfectly.

  
"Wow, that was... better than I thought you would do."  
"Alyssa fished with me before."

  
"She... did?" The veteran´s voice sounded surprised and... almost hurt. And suddenly Piers felt sorry for telling him. He knew Chris wanted to teach him this. But hey, maybe they would at least catch something today.   
"Yeah, but we both didn´t know what we were doing, really."

  
"This time you do. You have me!" The older one´s tone got slightly lighter again and Piers´ heart skipped a beat.  
After some time, they decided to sit on the blanket, sticking the poles between the branches of a nearby tree but still closely keeping an eye on the bait to lay still and untouched. Chris was the first to speak after some time.  
"Did you think about what to do with the fish? Do you wanna release it or do you wanna eat it?"

  
"Assuming we indeed catch something... I don´t know. I mean I´m in the mood for some fish but preparing it... Not really." Piers shrugged.

  
"I would prepare it for you." The sniper looked over and saw the cutest, most genuine smile he ever got to see on the Captain´s face. "It´s your birthday after all."

  
"I think I´d like that..." Jumping over the nervousness in his gut, Piers inched closer to Chris to now rest against his arm before coming to lay his head against Chris´ shoulder. It wasn´t even a second later that he felt a pressure on his head and knew Chris was doing the same to him.

  
To anyone else they must have looked like a couple, right? Were they one? It was almost stupid, both of them were adults, grown up war machines but they couldn´t just get it on?

  
"Chris..." Raising his head to Chris´ eye level, Piers realized how close they were. "Yeah...?" The sniper was aware that the longer he would think about it, the more he´d doubt it. So in the next second, he already moved closer, making their foreheads rest against each other. Their breath started to mingle and Piers caught Chris´ gaze, how it jumped from his eyes to his lips and back.

  
Piers´ phone gave a loud and obnoxious buzz and this time it was Chris who pulled away without a word. "..."  
With a sour hiss, Piers turned on his cell to find another text message from Alyssa.

  
_4:52 p.m._   
_From: Alyssa_   
_Btw, Anderson came over to us just now. He wanted to have a talk with my mom about your man. She told him he wouldn´t come to work anymore and he was fine with it. That´s not what I mean to tell you though._   
_Apparently when you guys were still here, ...Chris got in a fight with Robert, another dude... he´s a douchebag. -.-_   
_Robert told him that 'Richard' had thrown a tantrum when he got a hold of a picture with Chris and you on it. That´s not all, Chris even fucking CONFESSED to Robert and the other guys around that you are the dude he finds super cute._   
_Tony said it too. Tony said Chris told him he´s totally in love with ya!~_

  
Slowly the phone sank to his side without a reply being written and Piers looked over to Chris who stared at the slow setting sun.

  
This man loved him, this man loved him just as much as he loved him. The realization once more sent butterflies through his insides.

  
Setting the device back in his pockets, Piers once more tried his luck and wanted to start a conversation but luck was not on his side today. The orange plastic on the surface of the lake bobbed once, twice before completely being pulled under water.   
"Chri-..." "Something has bitten your bait...!"

  
Jumping to his feet surprisingly fast, Chris was first on the pole and got his hands on it right before it could slip free from the branches. "Piers, you try it!", he said as Piers caught up with him and shoved the pole into the younger one´s hands.   
This was the part Piers had always messed up even if something had even bitten. "What do I do, Chris?"

  
"You pull the fish closer a bit before releasing and reeling in the thread at the same time. Repeat this a few times until it gets closer and closer."

  
Trying to follow his advice, Piers pulled with a firm thrust on the pole and it came a bit closer, right after that, Piers hauled the roll as fast as he could before it was straight again.

  
"That´s good. Make sure that it never gets too loose. If it does, the fish will find a way to get away..." This was hard. Even for a trained military man, this was hard. For a moment Piers wondered if the fish was just big or he had lost some of his abilities.   
The minutes passed and both sides of the pole struggled through this battle. Chris stood there next to him, cheering and encouraging him how good he was doing and it helped a little. It eventually came to the point that Piers knew he´d won but the fish still kept fighting even if it entered shallow water and you could make it out splashing a mere few meters away from shore.

  
Chris now ran into the water, not even pulling up his pants legs or something as he took a hold of the thread and, with a strong pull, heaved the fish out of the water for Piers and him to see.

  
Piers could understand now why it had been so difficult. This thing was huge. Chris retrieved it to shore and fumbled to remove the hook from its mouth which was rather difficult with it thrashing around like that. He eventually succeeded and asked Piers to fill a plastic box they had brought too with water from the lake. The fish landed in it right afterward.

  
"So now we have our dinner for today."

  
"You wanna eat it right now?" "Well...", Chris smiled." Fish is best if it´s fresh. I mean, I don´t need much to prepare it anyway. Just a pocket knife and patience."

  
Piers just nodded reluctantly.


	18. The Night Is Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How did things get from blood-covered over sentimental talk all the way... to this? Piers struggled for some answers himself but couldn´t deny that the outcome was quite pleasing, he had to admit when he stared into those walnut brown eyes below him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first part of my exams are through and went quite smoothly, fortunately~   
> I´ll probably still wait until the second part is over before I begin writing again, until then have some more writing out of my stockpile.
> 
> In general, I feel more relieved now, better than before. So this may be late but you remember when I said I researched a lot of things on the internet. Fishing was one of them, never did it. So I wouldn´t know if it was accurate. Luckily, Chris and Piers soon found something else to do.

It got dark fast from here on out and they decided for a bonfire. So the two of them spread out and collected some wood around the area. Piers had this training in the special forces and therefore knew which wood to collect.

  
In a way, he had missed crawling through the dirty and muddy nature like this. The first memory to reach his mind was his childhood in the fields of wheat. The second, the time as a sniper in the special forces were he would sometimes go days just laying around somewhere without moving a muscle.

  
Goddamn, he missed active service. He bet Chris did just as well. But there was no way to go back to this.   
Having collected enough wood for his taste in the matter of a few minutes, he turned and walked back the path he´d come. Soon he spotted their camp which had proven to be difficult with the lacking light in an area that was completely foreign to him.

  
Dropping the wood to the floor, the young sniper could make out the silhouette of his companion over by the large tree that stood close to the water. Looking to the ground, he saw that Chris had already collected his share and walked towards the other with a nod.

  
He came to stand next to his side the moment he drove the pocket knife into the underside of the fish.

  
"Ugh...", Piers gave a disapproving sound but still kept his eyes focused on the display. He´d seen worse. In fact, he remembered having to do shit like that as well. Special forces had a way to mess with your head, alright. Every soldier from his unit was given a rabbit for a weekend, they had to name it... and kill it the same day, it would be their dinner.

  
Piers remembered to have to do it for the whole fucking unit because they were too soft for it. Coming from a farm and all, it hasn´t even been that hard.

  
Chris came to rest the fish on a branch that had just the right height to use it as leverage as he drove the knife higher, cutting the creature wide open.

  
"So, you have your lighter with you, right?", Piers asked and threw a glance over to their camp. The conditions were rather bad. It was cold, it was windy, it was wet. They might have to try it a few times before it would work.

  
"Sure, it should lay somewhere on the blanket if I remember correctly."

  
"So then I´m taking the fire if you´re fine with it."

  
Chris just gave a nod, his eyes never leaving the fish that he spread wide open now and continued to loosen the organs with his knife.

  
With a few quick steps, Piers was at their camp and proceeded to drag the branches together in a circle. Then he reached for the lighter. He was so happy they had one. Making a bonfire without one was just straight up a pain in the ass. With his other hand, he gathered some grass and leaves in his hand that were as dry as possible.

  
Igniting them wasn´t the problem. The problem was to get the branches to catch fire without the leaves and grass being completely gone beforehand.   
It didn´t work on the first try. Neither did it after the second, third or fourth.

  
"Ugh..." Rage built up in Piers and throwing the lighter back where he found it, a thought struck Piers. Carefully looking over to Chris, he saw the other one still deep in his activity, single organs now being discarded on the floor, next to the veteran. He wouldn´t even notice....

  
With a slow and careful motion, Piers got up and pointed his right arm towards the bunch of wood. He hadn´t done this shit in so long and nervousness settled in him. But he tried to concentrate rather on the rage he just felt. It was easier to spawn the electricity like this.

  
The tingle started in his fingertips, pulling all the way up to his shoulder in no time. He tried to concentrate on building up a charge but the longer he held it in, the blurrier his vision got. Piers had no way of comparing the electricity and it´s strength anymore. He just knew that it got weaker, wasn´t so intense like in the underwater facility anymore. So he charged a little longer. Made sense, right?

  
The moment he felt a tugging sensation flooding through his hand, Piers doubted his action and let his gaze wander over the blue, sparkling zapping that wandered over his hands and arm and illuminated the night around him.   
The tugging evolved into a stabbing pain and Piers released instantly.

  
_Zzzh_

  
The little lightning traveled the short distance in the split of a second and lightly exploded when it hit the bonfire, immediately starting a flame to roar up towards the sky. It settled the next second a little but continued to burn. He did it! He made a fire with his super freaky arm.

  
"Piers?!" When he looked up again, he saw Chris still over at the tree, his expression not really lightened up enough to see it, but there was concern in his voice. He had seen it...

  
"I... I´m sorry, Chris but... I thought it would be faster like this!", he stuttered fast to defend himself. The older one came jogging over to the fire now, looking between it and Piers back and forth.   
What had Piers been thinking? He couldn´t just give in to the virus!

  
"It actually was! Good thinking, Piers!" ...What? Just now did Piers dare to meet his eyes and they sparkled with... pride?!  
Chris... wasn´t scared. Of him or the virus. And never would be. He trusted him to stay in control, to know that he was doing when everyone else just wanted for him to make a wrong step so they could put him down.

  
In the four years they knew each other and formed this bond, Chris came to get to know Piers just as well and the way he squirmed around, taking little steps back from Chris was obvious. Usually, Piers never showed it when he was uncomfortable but the virus was a whole different issue.

  
The veteran was fast to close the distance between them and wrapped his partner in a hug. That kind of Redfield-hug you couldn´t escape even if you tried your damn hardest. And for a moment it seemed to have the desired effect to calm the younger, even if Chris never told him about the electric spazz that he received upon touching the other before Piers began to stir and pushed away from him.

  
"Ugh, you still smell like dead fish, don´t touch me!" How rude...

  
But this was still Chris we were talking about. "Never! You´ll have to put up with this!"

  
As to mock him, Chris shifted his grip on the other one, being able to keep the smaller one in place with just one arm around him while he pressed his right hand in Piers´ face.

  
"You smell this? That´s your dinner. That I´m going through the trouble of preparing!", he chuckled while Piers behaved like he was going through a small panic attack with the way he thrashed around.

  
"That´s so disgusting, Chris! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Piers slapped his hand away and Chris thought of it as enough before slowly releasing his partner which took three, four steps back, fiddled with a tissue from his pocket and desperately rubbed it over his face.

  
"There´s even goo on my face, you idiot! Like you literally smeared me with fucking fish blood..."

  
"You know the feeling of blood on your face, soldier. Rather a fish than a BOW, no?" With a slight chuckle, Chris turned around and walked back to his old position, proceeded to grab the fish that hang from one of the branches and continued with his earlier actions.

  
Throwing another look towards the fire to make sure it was secure, Piers made his way over to the lake, but not without giving Chris a hiss as he passed him by. Arriving at his destination, he kneeled down and splattered some water on his face. Not that it would help that much with the smell but it would make do for now.

  
He continued to sit there for a few minutes, just observing the dark scenery some more.

  
"...You still scared of the water?"

  
He wasn´t even surprised. Piers had felt Chris standing behind him for some moments now. He was obviously done with what he had to do.

  
"Yeah, so what?" It hadn´t sounded like a mock or anything, yet he got defensive right away. The thought made Piers mentally slap himself. But there was little he could do about it. It made him feel weak to the core, being a soldier, going through years of special ops and bioterror just so that one little incident could make you fear for your life in the eye of the most casual thing on this planet.

  
"Nothing 'So what', I can understand." Chris sat down next to him on the cold ground and rested his head on one knee, snaking his arms around it while staring at the water. "Water these days just sounds more and more like screeching metal and collapsing debris..."

  
"..."

  
That got Piers looking over to the Captain in surprise. So Chris could hear it too and for the first time ever, Piers caught himself asking how Chris even felt about what happened in the underwater facility. He had been too busy mourning in his own misery to ever look at it from Chris´ perspective.

  
He had left Chris behind. Thinking about what Chris said in Edonia, how no one gets left behind but in the end, he was, left Piers with a bitter taste in his mouth. At the time he knew it would hurt Chris, maybe even to the point that he might break down again but Piers had hoped he had given him enough hope to continue.

  
The sniper would have loved to go with Chris, to survive and continued to fight the good fight but these thoughts were hard to hold onto when your whole right side was mutating and a distant voice in your head screamed to kill your secret crush.   
It was better for both of them.

  
Now he found himself doubting his actions. But they would have never made it to the surface in time.

  
Piers felt the urge to apologize but asked himself in the next second for what he´d do that. They got sent on this mission and they did what they could. Infecting himself had been necessary to bring down Haos and save Chris´ life. Nothing could have been changed about any of this. The only thing he could indeed apologize for was staying behind while the weight of his 'death' would follow Chris forever.

  
But he couldn´t honestly apologize for that. Because he knew he´d do it again in a heartbeat.

  
"They said you´d never make it. Send in divers, anyways, but I don´t think it was because of you. No one truly cared about one lost soldier on a mission. I did though because that one soldier had been the one that saved me out of my self-pity.", Chris began talking again suddenly and his gaze continued to be glued to the slight waves on the water the wind created.   
For a moment, Piers didn´t dare to speak but the tension broke when Chris moved forward and held his hands into the water, washing the blood off them. Piers watched him as the red liquid mingled with the water until it eventually faded out and vanished.  
"I´m glad y

ou didn´t give up on me." Chris stopped in his tracks and stared dead ahead.

  
"Don´t mention it, kid. Someone had to be there when everyone else just didn´t give two shits."

  
"All I´m saying is that I´m glad that it was you."

  
Chris slowly sat upright again and looked Piers in the eye. The right one slightly shimmered a bright blue in the dark and Chris found himself drawn to it almost like a moth to a light.

  
Piers´ phone gave a buzz and the sniper threw a glance over it from the corner of his eyes with a silent grunt. If it was Alyssa again, he swore to God-!

  
_7:02 p.m._   
_From: Alyssa_   
_Just get your man, do it!_

  
The sniper´s brows furrowed in confusion. If he wouldn´t know it any better he´d say she was watching them. It would have been a lie to say that Piers didn´t scan the surroundings really quick in his paranoia until his eyes came to meet Chris´ once more.

  
Just now he did notice that his phone was still placed on his lap with its screen turned on really bright for the whole world to see. Looking down at it and back in Chris´ soft eyes, Piers froze as he understood. Chris had seen it and read it. He knew.

  
"Your man? You talk with Alyssa about stuff like that the whole time?"

  
With sinking, shocking realization, Piers figured that this time there was no going back from this. The text was too obvious to cover up with excuses.

  
"..." It was also the same moment, the sniper decided he´s had enough of it anyways and pushed himself forward in the next second to press his lips on Chris´. They met halfway as Chris seemed to have thought the same and eager lips started to grind against each other.

  
Chris´ kisses were everything but innocent. They were open-mouthed with a lot of panting and fighting for dominance. Then again, he never imagined them any different than that. Piers let out a surprised yelp as the older one let himself fall backward on the grass, pulling Piers with him so he lay on top. At the same time, he took full advantage of the situation and bluntly shoved his tongue into the sniper´s mouth.

  
It seemed like everything happened at once as Piers even felt Chris´ hands coming to rest on his hips. Seeking at least a little support other than Chris, the sniper´s hands came to rest right and left, on both sides of Chris´ head, on the cold grass. But the pressure of Chris´ hands that were now on his back, pressing him down, made his hands give way so he instead switched to his forearms.

  
They stayed like this for now and rather concentrated on their intense tongue fighting going on. They brushed against each other, sometimes even past and tried to explore the other one´s mouth as good as they could.

  
Piers felt so much heat inside. This was him, kissing Chris. And he was so good at it, making Piers feel like he was on fire. And Piers was barely able to keep up with Chris´ bruising pace, goddamn it.

  
It had been some time for Piers to have kissed someone like this and he assumed the same applied for Chris. Neither the less, this didn´t feel awkward in the slightest, it still felt experienced and couraged from both sides.

  
Their bodies were pressed flush together, that and the kisses made it hard to breathe. Both of them would sneak little gasps in their lungs whenever the kiss got more open-mouthed again. But they never stopped in their actions, teeth clattering together while tongues slid over each other.

  
The sniper was so hot for him right now, damn it. And the fact that they were so close got him slightly worried. His crotch was basically located right over Chris´. If he´d bone up now...

  
"Piers..." But it was so fucking hard not to! He had to get a grip. Just a moment to calm down a little and then everything would be just fine!

  
Piers raised his head a little to get his lips away from Chris. Not that it wasn´t easy when Chris followed his movement, raising his head as well just to not lose contact. D-Damn it...

  
“..." Trying to shake off the other from his lips, Piers once more yanked his head back. Chris was right behind him. Grunting, the sniper placed his hands on the other´s chest and pushed himself up, now sitting on Chris while looking down.  
For a moment they just looked at each other, panting. Chris´ hands on his hips gave a squeeze. Before he could say anything, Chris already raised his voice.

  
“You look so good from down here...” From all the things Piers thought the other might say, that wasn't one of them.  
Because Piers Nivans didn´t look good. At least not since China anymore. And Chris should know. Because these scars were all over his face. Were all over his body.

  
"...You didn´t need to say that..." He knew he might be a little bitch about that issue all the time but the scarred tissue pulled at his skin with every move, constantly reminding him it was there. And if he was already bothered by it, the feeling and the looks, then why wouldn´t Chris be?

  
It looked angrily swollen, it was not nice to look at. People´s reactions told him. And there was nothing that could change his m-

  
A rough and cold hand came to touch the right side of his face and Piers´ first reflex was to pull away from it. But he didn´t. Instead, he let it happen, felt the gentle touch of these fingers on his skin.   
It was strangely dull. A normal thing for scarred skin. God, it bothered him...

  
Chris had by now pushed himself up on his elbows, being able to look Piers better in the eyes. Chris thought about a million things to tell the younger one, but he knew that once the sniper began to shut down, there wasn´t much you could say to prove your own point.

  
So instead he showed him. Chris managed to support himself on one arm, his left never leaving Piers face and sat up. His partner had to move a little backwards to allow it, now sitting in Chris´ lap. He felt so perfect against him.  
The former Captain leaned forwards, his face once more inching towards the other. This time, however, his lips came to rest on rough, almost scaly-like skin.

  
And Piers gasped. But still, let him do without restriction.

  
Chris´ hand changed position from Piers´ cheek and came to lie on the back of his neck, pulling him closer to his searching lips.   
It definitely didn´t feel like normal skin. It was hard, it was... warmer than his normal skin. It felt delicate and sensitive at the same time so Chris was careful as can be as he darted his tongue out and continued to place little, and sometimes even not so innocent, kisses on every part of his cheek. He loved the sounds Piers let out when he lightly sucked on his skin.

  
Piers closed his eyes and began to lean into it. Chris started to whisper certain things against his ear and it took a lot of concentration for the younger one to make out the exact words.

  
"You´re beautiful, you´re perfect..." Chris was praising him on and on and Piers let out an uncertain sound through his lips that sounded way too much like a moan for his own taste.

  
Chris stopped in his actions. "..."

  
He backed a little away.

  
Their eyes met.

  
And Piers was blushing so hard like he probably never did before.

  
"...Let´s just get back to the fire...", Chris said after the awkward pause and Piers was thankful for that. If Chris would have asked him in that moment for sex he probably would have said yes in an instant. Just because he was so turned on. But right now he wasn´t so sure anymore if that would have been the way to go. If he was already at a point he was ready for it. So he was relieved that that wasn´t what Chris wanted right now either. He just knew Piers wasn´t ready.


	19. Love Drunk

By now it was pitch black and both of the soldiers had taken their place around the fire to cook the fish. Just when they wanted to begin, did they notice that they forget to bring something to do that with. Luckily, the trailer was just a few minutes away and Piers volunteered to get a pan.

  
Maybe he even needed that time alone. To think about what had happened between them. In the cold darkness around him, he found it rather easy to collect his thoughts. They kissed. That had been kinda weird at first. But the attraction Chris held for him was obvious. Let alone Piers´ own feelings for the other. There was no reason anymore to hide it. No rules, no nothing that told them not to. They could be themselves, they could be together like that.

  
Somehow he found his way around the black forest to the trailer and even back. He wasn´t sure how he´d done that but he did. The moment he broke through the woods and approached the fire, Chris already noticed him despite Piers trying to sneak up to his back.

  
"There you are... Got worried..."

  
Piers sat down right next to him, staring into the fire in front of him while resting the pan in his lap.   
"You don´t have to. I´m still very much able to take care of myself, old man."

  
"I know..." And with that two strong arms encircled him once more and pulled him close to their owner, drawing a weak gasp from Piers. He felt the pressure of the older one´s head resting on his and just his presence behind him in general. Piers gave a satisfied hum.

  
Somewhere along the line they actually managed to inch closer to the fire and get started with the fish.   
As soon as the fish met the hot pan under it, the air around them was filled with loud, angry hissing. They had parted again and sat in comfortable silence until the fish looked like it was done. Getting two plates from their bag, that they actually thought about when they came here, Chris placed either side on one.

  
"That doesn´t even look that bad considering our skills." Chris let out a laugh.  
Piers, on the other hand, was already busy to nibble on it with a satisfied expression which got Chris to smile even brighter.  
"It´s edible.~" Coming from Piers, that was definitely a compliment.

  
And so they both continued eating in content until there was no more remaining. They sat their plates down and from the corner of his eyes, Piers could see how Chris got a hold of the mysterious bag he had been eyeing the whole day and set it down in his own lap.

  
"So... it´s present time, babe..."

  
Piers shifted in his sitting position to get a better look at the other.   
Chris wore the smuggest grin on his face ever, knowing how curious his partner was right now and he took his sweet time on purpose pulling the first item out.

  
“Chris, come on, do it!” Once again a box was placed in his hands like in the morning. It was heavier though. A lot heavier. Piers met the older one´s eyes in confusion just to look down at the gray box once more.

  
"What...?" His hands found the lid in hesitation and lifted it off.

  
The item in question greeted him with the color black. It didn´t even take Piers the span of a second to realize what it was. A pang of nostalgia brewed up in him as he took the greatest care lifting his present out of its confinement.   
"...An old Polaroid Camera?"

  
His hazel eyes never left it for the longest time, just when Chris eventually started to speak again.   
"...You once told me you like photography. Mission in Indonesia, I think..."

  
Indonesia. Piers tried to remember a mission in Indonesia. But truth be told, there had been so many ever since his recruitment, he barely remembered most of them. There were just Edonia and China he could probably never forget.  
And saying that he himself didn´t remember it, he held the biggest respect for Chris doing so, yet alone one little detail he once mentioned.

  
"Dad used to have one...", Piers started slow and had no particular idea why he even told Chris. He didn´t need to, anyway. "Well, with him never being at home, I borrowed it a lot..."

  
"Borrowed?", Chris asked with an amused undertone, laying his head to the side.

  
"Yeah... Shouldn´t have even touched it, but Mom was busy and siblings don´t care, ya know. So I would take Charlie and make pictures of the farm and so on."

  
Before Piers became the best marksman the BSAA had, you could say the camera had been his scope.   
"I see. You never told me that much about Nebraska and... the farm. Who´s Charlie?" Piers could tell that Chris was genuinely trying here and he had to give him credits for that.

  
"Charlie was our dog. Border Collie, gorgeous breed. I don´t... think she´s still alive."

  
"So you don´t even know?" The sniper could imagine how that sounded but once again he rolled his eyes at Chris.  
"Well, with me being deployed god knows where, I didn´t always have the time to catch up with my parents about anything, really. And when I talk with Mom it´s always 'Lucy did this and that and Adam is doing great with the Rangers and Tim got accepted for the Navy Seals..."

  
"Huh, how about that... Your parent all got you pretty much lined up. What´s your sister doing?" Chris felt like he knew nothing about his partner. He never heard these names or just the fact that Piers had siblings. Somehow he asked himself where Piers fitted into there with his age. But he wasn´t much surprised by the fact that Piers´ father all shoved them into the military. The younger one didn´t talk much about his father either but when he did... it´s not with much sympathy.

  
"University in Paris. I think... becoming a doctor or some shit. Don´t know, I was kinda... busy with not dying theses past years to ask." The sniper brought the camera up to his face now, maybe in a manner to calm him, Chris had noticed how the issue riled up the younger one.

  
"And your father-" "We don´t talk about my father, okay?" It wasn´t loud or aggressive, more uncertain and disappointed but Chris got the point anyway and nodded, letting the subject drop.

  
Instead, he continued to watch Piers eyeing the camera and even, after some moments, taking his first photo. Neither less to say, Chris was surprised when Piers came to point the lens in his direction and shot. The flash hurt his eyes for a second and he rubbed over his closed lids with two fingers but the smile that greeted him when he opened them again, looking over to Piers, was worth the temporary white dots dancing over his vision.

  
"That was a photo wasted on an old man. If you want to shoot something really pretty, you should go for yourself."  
The blush that crept on Piers´ face didn´t stop him from giving a cocky grin and take a look at the photo that slowly pushed itself out the camera, waving it in the air to help it develop.

  
"You´re a much prettier sight when you think about yourself."

  
"Hmm...~" Chris growled softly. Piers turned his head to look at the picture now but that had been a mistake. Taking advantage of Piers´ distraction, Chris lunged forward, tackling him to the ground carefully.

  
Once again their eyes met but the contact broke as Chris looked over at the photo in the other one´s hand. He didn´t look that bad. Maybe a little goofy expression at the unexpected move but otherwise he looked better again then before Bearcreek. His beard was acceptable again and... there was more joy in his eyes, the new meds doing the trick quite well.  
Everything about his life with Piers was absolutely amazing.

  
The chocolate brown eyes shifted to his partner and after a moment Chris decided to go for the camera and was able to steal it out of Piers´ hand without even looking.

  
"Hey!" Piers wanted to protest but Chris was fast to seal his plump lips with a kiss which left him starstruck enough for Chris to roll half off of him, resting at his side now and raising the camera above them to have them both in the frame. He took the picture.

  
The both of them squirmed in light discomfort at the flash hitting their eyes but the veteran quickly recovered, impatiently waiting for the result to come out.

  
When it did, he was fast to waved the piece of paper in the air, at the same time pushing the camera back in Piers´ hand who still covered his eyes with an arm over his face.   
"So this is what you kids call a selfie, yeah?"

  
Piers gave a growl as a response and lowered his arm, sitting up like Chris did now.

  
" I guess so..." Chris extended it to Piers and said one hummed in approval. "Guess we´re both pretty photogenic!" He was just about to give it back to Chris but he pushed it, still in Piers´ hand, close to the sniper´s heart. "Want ya to keep it. I... already have one."

  
With that, Chris pulled out his wallet and slowly brought the picture of the two in plain sight that got him into so much trouble with that asshole, Robert.

  
Piers squinted his eyes to see the picture clearly. It was him and Chris, wrapping an arm around each other´s shoulder in front of a beautiful mountain scenery. The one taking the photo had been Claire. He remembered that. It was taken somewhere in the beginning of 2012, before Edonia, before Marhawa even. But still Chris and Piers had already been close and the Captain had invited him for a hiking trip with him and his sister. Neither less to say, Piers immediately accepted...

 

 

  
\----------------------------------

 

 

  
_"So... are we gonna be there soon, then? Don´t mean to sound annoying but... my thighs are burning! Just like my lungs! And everything else in my body..."_   
_Chris lightly chuckled as he heard his sister complain like this._

  
_"We´ll reach the peak soon, so from there on out it´s just going down.", he assured the last remaining part of his family that had fallen behind. So he came slowly to a stop, Piers next to him doing so as well upon noticing the decreasing pace. He didn´t have a problem with the terrain or the pace Chris demonstrated. But then again he had to remind himself that Chris´ training was brutal. Three times a week, with 30 kg luggage, actually running miles without end. Piers doubted that would be something for Claire._

  
_"Well, at least that´s something...", the redhead sighed sarcastically and finally came to a stop in front of them. "All of this wouldn´t even be so bad, but you guys are kinda rushing this."_

  
_"Sorry, didn´t notice. I thought this was an acceptable pace.", Chris shrugged and turned around to walk again, this time a little slower. Piers and Claire shared a look before the Lieutenant was already behind his Captain._

  
_Claire squinted her eyes for a second, watching them before shifting her backpack into place again and following after them._   
_The majority of the walk was quiet after that until they finally reached the top of the hill. There was a platform secured by a fence that they could make out at the end of the path that was decorated by trees on either side. Coming to stand on there, all three of them looked ahead at the green mountains and hills in front of them. This was truly amazing._

  
_For a moment they stood in awe but Claire´s eyes soon shifted to Piers again. The sparkling in his eyes was evident. But maybe, Claire thought, maybe it wasn´t just for the view. Maybe it was happiness from being here. Being able to spend time with them. With Chris._

  
_Claire held back a chuckle thinking about the E-mails they shared lately. The kid was downright obsessed with Chris. She had done him a favor and sent some pics from Chris back in the S.T.A.R.S. days. After that, the E-mails never left their focus of Chris. Piers wanted to know everything. Literally. Starting with either Chris liking soccer or not, all the way to 'What type of kid was he in school?'._

  
_Piers had it bad for the older one, Claire knew. And Piers knew himself. In an indirect way, he had even told her once between the lines._

  
_A week ago or so, the redhead had started an attempt herself and invited her brother over to her place for a relaxing dinner. And everything really had been indeed that, relaxing._

  
_Until they were done eating and she had tried to start a conversation involving Piers. Like expected Chris was thick as a rock when she brought it up._

  
_She had tried her best, she really did but it was like talking about a movie the other party had never seen. They didn´t get anywhere with Chris pretending to not know. (She really was sure he was just pretending.) So she had dropped it rather soon again, too soon for her liking._

  
_But right here, right now, looking at Piers, how he took a step forward, standing right next to Chris, you could see it clearly. Chris was making Piers happy. And Piers brought happiness to Chris as well. That was everything a little sister could wish for. Especially if she saw her brother struggling with so much shit already._

  
_"Hey guys, I could take a photo of you in front of this background.That would rock, don´t you think?" Both of them turned around to her in unison before looking at each other._

  
_"It sure would!" Chris eventually smirked, totally oblivious to the blush that was on his partner´s face. But Claire wasn´t._   
_"Alright, here we go!" Fumbling in her bag to retrieve her digital camera, she motioned for both of them to get closer together. Doing so, Piers had a hard to time to keep a straight face but managed it anyway._

  
_When he felt Chris´ arm encircling him, everything already happened too fast for him to be embarrassed about._   
_In the next second, Claire had already taken the picture and Chris let go of him. "..."_

 

 

\--------------------------------------

 

 

  
"You still have that?"

  
"Of course I do...!" Chris almost sounded insulted as he watched Piers tugging away the new picture safety into the bag they brought. After that, they ended up face to face once again and Piers let a small smile grace his lips.

  
"That camera... was expensive as hell, wasn´t it?" He finally asked what bothered him and Chris dodged his gaze. That was answer enough for the sniper.

  
"It... wasn´t that expensive.... We´re still fine.", Chris reassured him and leaned forward, their noses touching. Piers wasn´t really buying it. He thought about starting an argument, telling him to bring it back. But... there was also that part that was so sick of arguments and shit and was actually selfish enough to say 'Fuck it, I like this fucking camera and I´ll keep it!'

  
As to seal his decision, Piers leaned forward, this time him being the one to kiss the other. It still felt like heaven to be able to kiss his crush so openly and he felt these strong arms at his back, pulling him closer.   
Chris apparently was a very touchy person. Piers loved it already.

  
"You... You know, I can see the bag isn´t fully empty yet, right? You still have some shit in there..." A chuckle escaped Piers, seeing how Chris was almost desperate as he pulled away from his rough lips.

  
But his expression changed to a grin rather fast and he pulled the bag closer to them once more, this time letting Piers actually look inside.

  
Two bottles of clear liquid were inside. But you could bet your ass on that not just being water. "Is that whiskey?"  
"So what? I thought we could celebrate your birthday with some alcohol after all."

  
Hesitation was the answer he was greeted with. And thinking rationally, Chris didn´t expect anything else. After all, it had been him Piers had to drag out of a shithole of a bar, being drunken off his ass before. But Chris came to know his limits. And as long as he´d take it slow, he knew they would be fine.

  
"You up for it?", he kept asking Piers once more, urging him to say at least something. Eventually, he got a nod.  
"Fine, yeah, sure. Let´s drink."

  
Piers didn´t have to say that a second time. Grabbing the first bottle, Chris was fast to open it in swift movement with nothing more than the leader of one of the plates. Which looked rather impressive, Piers had to admit.   
Chris was the first to take a big swig of it, before extending the cold glass bottle to his partner.

  
"Have some, kid." If he was honest, there was reason not to. So Piers took it from him and hesitated for a small moment, not bringing it up to his lips but smelling on it. Big mistake. Piers had no idea what Chris bought, but you could probably gas up a car with this shit. But he felt Chris´ judging grin on him, so he pulled himself together and tried to swallow it down as fast as he could. He felt like it burned his throat. He felt like it burned everything it came in contact with. How could Chris just put up with this, let alone seem like he was into this?

  
By now Chris had shifted his position a little. Spreading his legs, he backed away from the fire and came closer to Piers. Said one was still busy not to throw up and suddenly got pulled in the other´s lap, in the gap in between Chris legs, his back flush against a muscular chest.

  
This was rather intimate but Piers soon relaxed in the other´s touch, let go of the tension in him, and let his head fall back and rest against solid muscles. Chris once again got a hold of the bottle in his hands and when he drank, Piers could feel his Adam's Apple bump up and down lightly against his hair. He decided to look up, raising his head backwards to come to meet brown eyes that looked past the bottle still on his lips.

  
"I kinda don´t like that stuff that much... Do you?", Piers asked with doubt still in his voice. After all, there was no nice taste about it... The bottle left Chris´ lips and he gulped it down fast.

  
"The taste is like crap in the beginning but the more you drink of it, the better it gets." As if to prove it, he once again began to drink some of it.

  
"Well... I don´t know if I´ll ever reach that point."

  
Chris settled the bottle aside without another word, bent over him while he carefully pushed Piers´ chin up with a hand, at the same time turning his head to the side enough, making their lips meet despite the weird angle.

  
At first, Piers thought this was a perfectly fucking normal kiss. Maybe a bit passionate since Chris started to move his lips in a rhythm against his. But then, after Piers had begun to lean more into it, Chris opened his lips, darting his tongue inside the sniper´s mouth and that was when he felt the burning, sour liquid running inside his cavity.

  
His eyes became wide when he understood what was going on here. Chris was... letting whiskey run into his mouth. Through his mouth. That was...

  
Piers fought the feeling of getting extremely turned on and screwed his eyes shut again, swallowing down what had been offered to him as fast as possible to get rid of the taste. But he couldn´t. Chris´ tongue, which had been covered in the same taste, didn´t stop leaving him alone, rubbing against every part of flesh and teeth it could find.

  
"Ngh..." Sounds were suddenly coming from his mouth Piers was actually not ready to give. Not that Chris seemed to mind it. This man was an incredible kisser, Piers noticed fast. He was that kind of kisser that could go on forever, exactly knowing which part to attack to get the right response and when to do it. That man that left you feeling like you were eaten out or... like having sex with your mouth. Not that that was a good comparison but... it felt like that.

  
In the end, it was still said man that pulled away, his eyes for the longest time resting on that string of saliva that connected them until Piers yanked his head lightly for it to break.

  
"Sure you´ll never get to that point?" His expression was so smug... If Piers wouldn´t be in love with this man, he might punch it off his face. After a moment of silence, Piers pushed himself to respond.   
"Well, if that´s the way of drinking it, I might consider it again..."

  
A laugh resounded through the air and Piers gave a chuckle as well as he leaned back against Chris, he being for Piers the most comfortable place in the world right now. Chris´ arms wrapped around his torso and he hugged him tight, Piers being able to feel his breath in his ears. He relaxed into it, carefully closing his eyes.

  
"You just have to say it... I wouldn´t mind...", was whispered carefully into his ear and these hazel eyes actually popped open again. The idea was tempting. So fucking tempting. Ah, fuck it.

  
"Sure... let´s get drunk like this..." Chris must not have counted with this response as he gave a surprised look. But Piers had already broken out of his embrace, now turning around to face the older. In the next second his hand shot out and got a hold of the bottle. He hesitated but shook off the disgust as he brought the bottle to his lips, took a little in his mouth just to not overdo it. Chris´ eyes met his and for a moment Chris looked so turned on like he himself had just felt mere seconds ago.

  
Lunging forwards, they met again like already so many times on this evening and Chris´ tongue impatiently pressed up against the middle of the sniper´s lips, almost as if he couldn´t wait to taste the alcohol. Not that the younger one thought that that was the reason.

  
Piers smirked into the kiss as he granted him entry.


	20. Dangerous Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week a little earlier since I won´t have any access to the internet this weekend~

The last bit of the second bottle. Waving the thing in front of his blurry vision, the sniper gave a hum before his eyes came to lay on Chris who had laid back on the grass, arms behind his head and watching the stars. Piers decided to gulp down the last rest himself and brought the bottle to the ground with a loud sigh. Chris was right. It stopped tasting like shit once you forced it down your throat one too many times because your boyfriend more or less made you do it. One way or another.

  
They had... to get back to the trailer. By now Piers was sure that it was hella fucking late... and dark... and things around him were spinning. Crawling over to Chris on all fours, because he didn´t want to risk throwing up in the next bush, he placed both his hands on his muscular chest and started shaking him as he realized that Chris´ eyes were long closed.

  
"Old man! Move it. Bring me... to the trailer...!", he uttered with a giggle. His words were so damn sluggish as their reached his ears, it didn´t even sound like his own anymore.

  
"Fuck off..." Neither did Chris´. He rolled over now, making Piers fall over him in the process which drew another chuckle from said one as he just decided to wrap his arms around the taller man and started to tickle him.

  
"I said 'Move'!" Chris immediately jumped up and, if Chris might have been sober, Piers was sure he had gotten a fist to the face or a kick to the stomach. Training reflexes die hard.

  
"I said 'Fuck off'! Learn your fucking place!" Neither the less, the older one pushed Piers off him who landed rather ungraceful in the dirt and slowly fought his way up to his feet, holding his head and screwing his eyes shut. But until now he was doing a pretty decent job at keeping it together. Contrary to Piers. Well, Chris doubted Piers had that much experience with alcohol anyway...

  
"Fine...", he finally got out and threw a gaze to Piers which didn´t move much. "Grab your things, I... know the way." Chris felt like adding an 'I think...' for good measure since that was the truth, he realized as he let his eyes wander through the dark. This might... get complicated after all.

  
Surprised, he looked down as he felt a pressure tugging at his legs just to meet eyes with the sniper giggling like a little school girl, hanging at the end of his pants.

  
"Bloody hell, Piers! You´re not a kid anymore, get up." Note to self, getting Piers Nivans drunk was probably a bad idea after all. Not that he thought he´d do it, but eventually Piers did indeed fight his way up, clinging onto Chris more than said one would have liked. But at least he stood. Leaving Piers´ side, Chris walked over to the bonfire that was on the verge of dying anyway and stuffed all their things into the bag.

  
Neither less to say Piers wasn´t that much of a help, drunken off his ass. Christ, the kid had drunken less than Chris...  
"Chris, Chris..." He didn´t even go through the effort to turn around until he collected everything that belonged to them and, seeing that it was small enough by now, simply stomped out the fire, dipping everything around them in total darkness with the last source of light gone now.

  
Chris fumbled with his lighter which proved harder than it did being sober. His fingers felt stiff as he pressed it against the flint-wheel to create the spark that would ignite it. It took him at least six tries which was downright embarrassing but eventually at least a little light showed him the way.

  
"Piers...?" No response. Chris squinted his eyes a little, hoping it would allow him to see but the space he had stood on earlier was empty. Great. Fucking amazing. One second, just one...

  
"I´m not even kidding. If you don´t come out not, I swear I´m gonna leave your sorry ass behind!" Once again, nothing. Goddammit. Slowly but steady Chris was running out of patience. He was cold, he was tired. He wanted some sleep for fuck´s sake.  
Walking a few meters to the spot the other one was missing from, Chris once again turned in all directions. The veteran never had a fucking clue how Piers reacted to alcohol. If he had, though... There were certain types of drunks... Apparently, Piers Nivans was the kind of drunk that liked to play around a lot.

  
Well, too bad for him Chris was the kind of drunk that got pissed easily as shit.

  
"You..." He swallowed down the second word that almost dared to pass his lips. No, he wouldn´t let this little incident ruin the whole beautiful day for him. But seriously, why for everything in the world...? Also added to that, Piers was a sniper. If he didn´t want to be found, you wouldn´t find him. Ever. Until he decided it was time for that.

  
"....Gh..." And that´s when he heard it. The blood in his veins seemingly froze as he felt the alcohol leaving his system in a heartbeat due to the adrenaline. That... had been a moan. A pretty mindless, stupid moan. He knew that sound. Almost like a...

  
No, that couldn´t be. Why would it? They were miles away from... Yeah, from what? Watertown was barely a few minutes away and the city wasn´t even that small. But a terrorist attack...? A bioterror outbreak?

  
Chris spun around a little too hectic and scared for his own taste. Maybe it had just been too long since he last had to face... them. Still sending a quick prayer to heaven that this was just a sick joke and not what he actually thought it was, he tried to make out the direction where it came from. Which was hard with everything being fucking black!

  
But the sound didn´t reoccur for the longest time, before... "Hgn..."

  
There it was again, still sounding way too... close to him. Just by reflex Chris´ hands came to rest on his thigh but there was no holster, there was no gun. The only means of self-defence he had was Jake´s gun with three damn bullets and that thing was in the trailer.

  
God, he always knew he worked like a goddamn zombie magnet, some things don´t change. At least now being able to tell the rough direction, Chris drew a long breath.

  
The thing that scared him the most was the uncertainty of the number of enemies. There could just be one, there could a dozen or more. Well, seemed like the only thing he had were his fists. Which was a bad bet with zombies, really. He didn´t even have his trusted hunting knife. For a moment Chris thought about seriously barging in with the combat skills he had earned. He could snap a neck or two...

  
Then he remembered he indeed was carrying a pocket knife. It would probably be way too short to make any real damage but it was better than nothing. Throwing his backpack to the ground in the split of a second, Chris stumbled about something even better. The pan.

  
Getting a good grip of it, he threw the bag over his shoulder once more and pushed further ahead. There was no further moaning, but rustling of leaves ahead. It was slow, it was... sluggish. But neither the less it calmed Chris in a way since it was the only thing he could make out. Luck was still on his side, this didn´t look like a horde.

  
"Ahg..." Chris himself tried to walk as careful as possible, rolling off his feet from heel to toes to make the grass swallow most of the sounds. The lighter in his left hand dangerously flickered in the wind but refused to give up.

  
Soon a single figure was caught by the soft light emerging from his left. It just stood there, continuing to moan. It´s back was facing him and Chris stopped in his tracks.

  
It looked like it was not with its senses anymore, waving from one side to the other in a tired manner. The light was still too dull to make out much but in these years Chris had learned to rather first shoot, then ask questions, as sad as it may sounded. But sometimes it was just you or them.

  
Not wanting to risk anything, the former Captain of Alpha kept approaching, the handle of the pan tight in his right. He kept it ready. As soon as he was close enough, he´d make this thing lose it´s head, literally.... This joke was getting old too.

  
"Tgh...!" Not much more than a meter was now laying between them and it slowly turned its head towards him, obviously having noticed him now.

  
"Knock knock, motherfucker...", Chris uttered under his breath and pulled the pan up in the air to make it collide with the infected int the next second. At least he thought so. Until scares appeared on that face that was being revealed more and more, glowing in a familiar blue color. Way too fucking familiar...!

  
In the last moment, Chris was able to stop the momentum of the pan but not without stumbling a step back, making it miss his partner´s face by merely an inch.

  
"P-Piers?!" Panting in realization of almost beating up his crush, Chris watched his face intently as he finally came to face him. Piers looked... out of it. He looked like... he was not even processing what happened around him. Lowering the pan until it fell to the ground, Chris frowned and looked in these eyes that used to be hazel, the right one now completely glowing in an almost blinding bright blue. Together with these scars. Once again he tried to talk to him.

  
"Erm, hey, puppy. You feeling... alright?"

  
Piers lightly raised his head to finally meet his eyes on his own accord but still didn´t say a word. Chris was confused. Were there sounds... coming from Piers? Most likely with obviously no one else around. But... why would the sniper play zombie? Just for fun probably not. Maybe the alcohol...

  
Once again Chris was thankful for these reflexes as the right of the sniper came up in a fist to punch him in the face.   
"Wha...?!" Dodging just in the right point of time, Chris stumbled past him and came to stand behind him, watching Piers turning around painfully slow towards him. Okay, the thing that got Chris more worried than the punches, was the electricity that Piers obviously still could handle and also seemed to charge in his right arm, right now.

  
So his brain told him to think rationally. Which option did he have to defend himself or... what the fuck happened in the first place?! It was obviously the C-virus still inside Piers, that much could Chris already point out. Currently, it had control of the sniper. But why now? And not a fucking month ago or sooner?

  
Nothing had been different today than it usually was. Except maybe... it was the alcohol. No one knew about the effects of alcohol on a virus. Why would they anyway? Getting a zombie drunk was usually not a common thing. But... if alcohol could make a human being loosen up, to the point where some of them even become hostile, then the thought of Piers coming to accept the virus in himself, maybe even being curious and careless, letting it take control over his clouded mind, wasn´t so far away.

  
"You know it´s me, right?" He had to try. After all, there was no way he´d actually hurt Piers. The only way out of this without a tragic end was Piers snapping out of it. However that would work exactly.

  
"...I know you..." The other one finally let out and Chris already wanted to let out a sigh of relief, at first not even noticing the slight change in the usual so smooth voice of him. "Of course, I do... I almost had you, back in China... But it didn´t quite work out like I wanted it to be."

  
Screw that. Piers was scaring the living shit out of him and, whatever he meant with that, Chris was sure that didn´t come exactly from the sniper himself. Maybe... Piers had never been that wrong with the 'mind on its own' thing.

  
"Excuse me? Piers?" Chris started to back a little away now, not liking the way the electricity picked up around his partner.  
"Not exactly. Not anymore if you want to put it that way.... He did however put up a good fight." Chris´ eyes went wide as his worse nightmare ever came true in front of his very eyes, right now.

  
"He also gave me a name, I think. If I´m not mistaken, he called my C."


	21. Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya, guys~  
> Here´s your weekly update (maybe a bit short, sorry) c: Not to spoil you guys or anything but the next chapter is gonna be the reason for the rating of this fic x'D

Chris had hoped it would never ever come to this. The worst part about it was the already obvious outcome. He had no means of defending himself and who knew what happened to Piers once this... thing would make him head for a city or something. There was no doubt about it, C was invented to kill and it never forgot.

  
Which would lead either to another outbreak or Piers getting put down eventually. Probably both. Chris had to do something, anything.

  
"You can´t be C, what about Anti-C, huh?"

  
"You mean the poor antidote created from the mercenary´s blood? It did subdue me for quite some time but it wears off, Redfield. It just happens after some time."

  
Chris didn´t like the fact that... it knew so many names, of him and about Jake. But that was probably to be expected if it took over Piers´ consciousness.

  
"You know what annoys me about humans? They talk a fucking lot!", his voice picked up and once more he... it came closer. "Just like the both of you. You talk so goddamn much...!"

  
Wasn´t this sad? You survive 20 years of bioterror and shit just to be put down by your own partner that was brought back from the dead once and you just hooked up with on the very same day? Chris felt surprisingly calm thinking about it as Piers inched closer, step by step until he finally stopped in front of him and his right hand raised which was already crackling with the energy that it held.

  
And even with this thing so close, he didn´t feel like trying to defend himself. First, he knew just touching him right now would grill him. Second... it was too late. The virus was so deep in his mind, one of them wouldn´t make it out alive.

  
His right hand continued to reach out for him and Chris could feel the first little shocks making their way to his skin. He flinched in discomfort. At the pain and the dirty smug grin on those lips, and even if it were his lips, you could tell it wasn´t Piers himself who let the gesture happen.

  
"... I`m sorry I couldn´t look out for you...", Chris let out after some hesitation. There was so much to say if you think about it, and it bothered to have never been able to say it. Now Piers, or what looked like Piers was right in front of him and he knew that all these words wouldn´t even matter to this... creature. Cause it wasn´t Piers anymore.

  
C let a hiss come from these lips. "Like I said, right now you seem to have so much to say, Redfield. Maybe you should have said them earlier." The virus inside confirmed what he had just thought and suddenly he lunged at him. Chris tried to dodge one more time but he couldn´t. The air was pushed out of him when he had to deal with the full force of the impact that sent him flying backwards. The feeling was too familiar to the shove he had given him in front of the escape pods in China.

  
And once again Chris was sure that Piers alone could have never been so strong without the virus.

  
His back made contact with the ground, which was thankfully bearable with the grass and leaves covering his fall the slightest bit. Which wasn´t so pleasant was the hand that came to rest on his chest and kept him down, shocking him with light zaps once in a while.

  
The veteran tried to make eye contact which proved to be rather difficult with an assload amount of volt coming up to meet you here and there.

  
"Come on, Piers. You remember what I told you, you gotta fight it, you need control." His voice didn´t even sound like his own anymore.

  
"How pathetic." Yeah, that´s what Chris had been thinking as well.  
A few precious second passed by and Chris didn´t understand why C wasn´t just ending him. It could do that just know. And if it really was telling Piers to do so in China already...

  
Finally, he found the strength to raise his head a little and blinked his eyes rapidly to urge the tears away that slowly started to form caused by the pain. Hazel... He could just make out hazel. No shred of blue in these eyes, nothing. The scars were still glowing slightly, but it faded gradually. The shocks coming from the hand on his chest decreased.

  
Piers was getting a grip.

  
Just when no more electricity reached his skin and he could just feel the normal touch of the other, did Chris relax as he let his head fall back to the ground while taking a deep breath and releasing it with a sigh.

  
"Goddammit..."

  
But his partner didn´t give him much time to catch a breather as he felt Piers pulling his hand back, getting up and leaving his sight of view.

  
"Woah, woah, wait...!"

  
Chris was on his feet rather fast for someone going through shock therapy right now and stumbled the first few steps clumsily before getting it together and jogging after the younger one. Piers was walking fast but he wasn´t running, almost giving the impression of an angry child. Which made catching up to him easy.

  
"Piers!" Chris got a good grip on the shoulder of the sniper, yanking him around. The little spark jumping on his skin where he touched him felt dull in comparison of what he had just dealt with. Except that Piers was less than thrilled about him following.

  
"What?! How about you leave me alone? Except for if you maybe like some more sh-"

  
He kissed him. He just kissed him, because once Piers Nivans shuts down...

  
"Stop... talking for a moment. And calm down." The older whispered under his breath once they broke apart. And thank god, it worked. Piers kept quiet, so did Chris and they took these few silent moment to both get back into working order.

  
"Okay. Now... let´s think about things. You´re always the calm, collected sniper so... take it slow." Yeah sure, Piers was calm and collected but more often than not, he was also short-tempered and hot-headed. But Chris wouldn´t let him flip shit this time. They would work this out together, one step at a time.  
Piers took it as an invitation to tell him what happened.

  
"So, I... remember standing there with you and you put out the fire." Chris urged him to continue with a nod. "Then... I don´t know. I started to feel really weird. I walked a bit away to the nearby trees, cause I thought I might... throw up. But then I heard these voices again and the scars started to glow really strange. Well, it kept talking until, eventually, I said fuck it and listened to it. I-I´m so sorry but... it seemed kinda cool at the time." Piers wanted to slap himself across the face. How stupid could you be? But it had been so easy and so... alluring.

  
"Alright, that´s fine.", Chris just said and it got Piers looking up at him in surprise. "Nothing we can do about it now, right? Just... no alcohol for you, ever again." He tried to give a smile to the sniper and it indeed worked, maybe a little weaker than he had hoped. Piers gave a defeated shrug.

  
"Listen, I still trust you. And I still believe that you have full control over it. I´m sure it was just because your mind wasn´t in the right place. We just avoid situations like that and everything should be fine." Piers tried to avoid his gaze but a hand on his chin brought his eyes to meet brown again fast.

  
"You hear me?"

  
It took some time, but eventually, he got a small nod from Piers. So he leaned forward and wrapped him in a strong hug which he obviously had needed if the way he pressed up against him indicated anything.

  
"Sorry I tried to fry you..." Chris´ arms came to hold him a little tighter and he let out a little chuckle to lighten up the mood. "It´s fine. Wasn´t even that bad. I´ve been through worse.~"

  
It got silent after that and Chris gave Piers the time he needed. Just holding onto each other, minutes passed by and Chris´ hand had begun to stroke through his partner´s hair. He felt how Piers was reacting, calming down until he finally pushed away to see into Chris' face.

  
"I-It´s okay... I think we can go now."

  
Chris nodded once in agreement before raising his eyes just to be me with total darkness. Alright... Piers next to him seemed to see the problem in the same second.

  
"Okay... Do you still remember which direction you came from?"

  
Chris had a slight idea but it was rough and he slowly started moving without giving an answer. He did, however, see Piers following him without hesitation after picking up the pan and the lighter which had fallen to the ground while Chris had collided with the ground. He was fast to catch up to Chris and press the lighter in one of his hands.

  
"Thanks."

  
Chris tried to follow exactly the path he thought he had used to get here and after some time they could make out the soft sounds of waves. They had found the lake. Continuing to follow the sounds, they eventually even saw it just like the ashy remains of their fire.

  
"Alright, from here on out, I take over.", Piers muttered under his breath as he tried to remember the way. After all, he had already found his path through here in darkness once tonight.

  
"You got this.", his boyfriend cheered him on and Piers felt like all the crap from earlier didn´t matter. But unfortunately, it wasn't that easy...

  
Piers walked slow, watched out for every tree or bush he could remember and Chris knew better than to rush him. The silence indulged them and it helped him concentrate. It was almost a miracle when a quarter hour later the trees around them cleared and they set foot on an open, wide meadow. They had done it. A few more steps and the trailer that appeared in their view proved that this was the right fucking meadow.

  
"Hell fucking yeah!"

  
The older one was fast to get the keys from his pockets and unlocked their little sanctuary. It was hard with just a little light to show you where to put the keys but eventually, the door gave a 'klick' and Chris was able to push it open and turn on the lights.

  
"Home sweet home, huh?" Piers grinned at this and was fast to follow Chris, closing the door behind him, leaving the cold and dark finally behind them. He was so happy to be back here. It really felt safe here. Like nothing could get to them, ever.  
The backpack found its place on the floor and Chris gave a yawn and stretched his muscles, letting out a snort when his back gave a quiet crack.

  
They agreed fast to go to bed without any more interruption. The alcohol still had some effects and the cold from outside still clung onto them. The idea of a warm bed, even if it was slightly battered, was the only thing they needed right now.

  
Chris grabbed his things and vanished into the bathroom to change his clothes, still being polite enough to give the other the space he needed. Dating or not.

  
Coming to stand in front of the mirror, Chris brushed his teeth, washed his face and all of his other routine before changing into his nightwear which still was just a pair of boxers and a wide shirt. Throwing another look into the mirror before he turned away and entered the main room again. He stopped cold in his tracks, handle still in hand.

  
"..."


	22. With Me, For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little longer, guys, hope that makes up for the shorter one last time. Upload on a Thursday since my sister´s getting married on the weekend. I can´t believe she´s actually marrying on the 1st of July... That´s Nivanfield Day for me!~
> 
> So here comes the smut, explaining why it´s so long since I just didn´t want to cut it somewhere and I definitely have the feeling I put way more effort into this then the rest of this fic... seems I have priorities... go figure xD

Chris was greeted with the sight of one beautiful back being exposed right for him to see. Looked like Piers was just about to, either pull a shirt off over his head or put on a new one. However, said one now froze in his action as well, obviously having heard the horrible creaking of the door. For a moment Chris watched him intently as he remained in this pose in front of the bed before Piers´ head slightly turned over his shoulder to look at him.

  
Come on, that had to be on purpose... It wasn´t the first time, it happened at the Hanson´s all the time as well.

  
But god, he was gorgeous. Even if the scars were plainly visible to see. Chris couldn´t remember an incident where he had seen his right arm so obvious before, with the sniper paying great attention to wear long sleeves. It looked bad. Red and pale linings both zig-zagged over it in great number. They faded out the closer they got to his chest but some were still there, falling into Chris´ sight as they were on his back as well. Just now did he notice two or three stray scars even all the way down to his thigh. They looked lost and unreal to him, almost as if it was just a threat from an old pullover hanging off of him. But they weren´t.

  
Piers continued to just stand there, his eyes boring into Chris, which said one didn´t even register since his eyes were busy elsewhere. They followed the lines back up again until the were laying on black fabric that he shouldn´t so openly stare at.

  
It wasn´t like Chris had never seen him before. They had public showers after all. But that had been at a time the older soldiers didn´t really... felt like that. Hadn´t been looking out for him. Now he felt himself not just in an emotional way attracted to his partner... but also sexually.

  
As if Piers had found his courage again, he decided to move the situation further, showing it in the way of letting his hips snap to the right and back again. He could move his ass for Chris if he wanted to... There was nothing anymore that could hold him from doing something like that.

  
"You know, eyes are not that far down..."

  
As if being a kid caught doing something wrong, Chris indeed fixed his gaze to Piers´ eyes again in a second. There was that smug grin again on the younger´s face and Chris was aware he knew what he was doing.

  
"Yeah, well, your eyes are not the only nice thing about you..."

  
Clearing his throat, Chris went with his guts and took slow steps closer to his source of desire and found satisfaction in the way the other grew more and more nervous the closer he got. Kid was just as hot as him...

  
"Tch, well, thanks...", he let out sarcastically and was just about to return to his prior motion of pulling this goddamn shirt over his head, as two strong hands came to rest on his waist. On naked skin. Nothing protecting him. From Chris seeing, touching...

  
"How about you leave it off...?" That... had sounded way too close to his ear, Piers realized. And indeed, a moment later Chris´ mouth made contact with his earlobe, beginning to nibble and lick over it. This was heading south fucking... fast.

  
"What´s the worst that can happen? I mean, here we are, just two guys, sleeping in the same bed, one of us half naked. You don´t really think I´d do something to you...?" The touch of his hands on his side shifted, in slight shock Piers noticed how they made their way further up, brushing over hot skin until they stopped at his chest, dangerously close to his nipples.

  
What was even happening?! Sure, the words Chris had said, the things Chris had done to prove that he really meant well, had the sniper thinking about these stupid scars and he almost came to the point of not caring anymore eventually but he didn´t know what to make of this event unfolding in front of him right now, with him in the main role.

  
"Chris..." Once again he needed to think! Slightly turning his head away, hoping to get Chris away from his ear, that still didn´t change the fact that Chris had really started to rub his nipples now shamelessly.

  
He fought it. He fought it for as long as he could but eventually, the shirt hit the ground, finally giving Chris more access to boldly roll the small nubs between his fingers.

  
Did that mean he´d give into this now? Did he want this? How far did he want this to go? Piers didn´t know. And he got fast reminded of said things as Chris pressed tightly up against him from behind, making him feel warmth and... a lot of hardness. He tried to inch away, at least get some space in between the lower parts. He succeeded, almost. A mouth came to rest on his neck now, sucking hard. Skin. Scars.

  
The parts on which Chris sucked with a lot of scars slightly pulled at his skin but the feeling all in all wasn´t bad.

  
Piers felt weird, thinking about not too long ago he had almost killed Chris in the woods, with no one being able to save him. Now that was happening. Of course, Piers blamed himself. And that alone should be enough to ruin such a sexy atmosphere. But what he really wondered about was how Chris felt about it. Said one probably didn´t mind. He was always so selfless, thinking about everyone else before him.

  
And right now, also obviously desperate and turned on. And maybe... it didn´t even matter that much what happened half an hour ago. Maybe just now mattered. And maybe he would even enjoy that, whatever this would turn into.

  
Piers finally let his hands fall to his side and took a calming breath. Chris was still busy stimulating him with his mouth on his neck, fingers on nipples and even his hips slightly started to press further against him, giving the younger one a good impression of what was hidden there. There´s a lot you can feel through just two thin layers of fabric.

  
Piers decided to go with the flow now and gave the same pressure back, much like in the same manner like Chris, sending a very easy to feel bulge to rest against the middle of his ass now. Wherever they were heading, they were going there full speed... The sniper lightly bit his lips before eventually ripping away from him and turning around. He needed to see Chris´ face if they were gonna do that.

  
He felt like saying something. Something small but reassuring. Something that could squish all his last doubts. 'Are you sure?' 'Is this what you want?'

  
"I don´t know about this..." No. Don´t.

  
Like expected Chris´ face became serious, even with a frown and he took a step back. No, wait!

  
"That´s fine... I´m sorry if I moved too fast." Piers´ gaze met the floor, being so goddamn disappointed in himself. They just jumped up again when he could see Chris from the corner of his eyes wanting to walk past him to the bed and his reaction was instant. He grabbed Chris´ wrist and said one came to stop, meeting his eyes after some long seconds of silence.   
There you go, Nivans. Tell him!

  
"You didn´t... The thing is just... It´s hard to describe. I really want this. But I`m uncertain of 'the real deal.' Isn´t there a way to... explore each other without necessarily having to have sex...?" God, he just said it. Said that word which was in both their heads but never spoken out aloud. He said it in connection to the two of them, in front of Chris... He really was acting like some shy virgin on her first night with someone, eh? Good, just get a grip! This is now your boyfriend. You´re bound to have sex with him one day.

  
Chris, on the other hand, seemed way more fucking relaxed about the issue.

  
"There is. A lot of them... I mean... I could show you..." The older one took a step closer once more, reaching for Piers´ hands on his wrist and brushed his thumb affectionately over it. His eyes never left Piers´ and the latter could feel himself growing impatient under them.

  
"Please do..." He would trust him on that, Piers decided. The other one probably had some more experience than he anyways. Sure, Piers had dated once or twice and sure, he wasn´t a virgin with either gender. He has had a girlfriend once, to try and see if he could do that, cover up the fact that he found out about himself pretty early on that he was gay. Showed her to his family. Had some nice nights with her. Broke up. Then moved on to secretly chasing boys.

  
But in the end, between military college and later Special Ops there was never really that much time to satisfy your raging hormones with anyone but yourself.

  
Chris though probably had his fair share of sexual encounters. Even if Piers doubted they were with other men.

  
Chris gave a nod on the statement and placed a hand on Piers´ naked chest which left him so stunned that it was easier for the taller man to push him closer to the bed. "Just lay down..." Without giving him much choice, he already gave him a slight push, sending him falling back, caught by the squeaking mattress.

  
But Piers found his resolve fast and looked up, just about in the right moment when Chris pulled his shirt over his head as well, letting it fall to the floor.

  
Chris Redfield looked like a god. That much did Piers already know from active service. Hey, it wasn´t a shame to look if you already get the chance after every training in the locker room, right? But right now it was just for him and that got the sniper flustered and blushing in excitement. He was caught between wanting to stare and the thought that that would be rude and turn his head away to hide his inability to deal with the situation between them. In the end, he did just that. Turning his head away in shyness, just awkwardly laying on the bed like this, still propped up on his elbows in front of Chris.

  
"...Piers, look at me." Oh god, oh god, oh god.

  
"I...I..." Carefully, Piers raised his gaze again, letting it rest on defined muscles.

  
"Yeah? You?"

  
"...Get on top of me..."

  
It was the first thing that came to his mind and also the only thing he wanted. He was just glad he finally found some courage in himself. Hopefully, it would stay a while longer so he could maybe for a change tell Chris all the shit he wanted to do. Like expected, he didn´t have to wait long for the impact. A wall of body mass came to rest on him in an instant, arms snaking their way around him, a mouth covering his own. After the first initial surprise panic of being suffocated by the lack of air, he settled and relaxed into the now a little more familiar touch from the other.

  
"We´ll go slow about this, don´t worry, Piers." Oh, he wasn´t in worry. Not anymore. If Piers could have it his way, then Chris could have it all. No restriction. Not anymore.

  
"Fuck going slow..." He mumbled under his breath but Chris must not have heard it. Or just ignored it with the way he started to shift to his neck, nibbling at it almost innocently slow and careful. Just like his hands that didn´t move from their spot on his hips yet. But fingertips were digging into black briefs, first barely brushing over the fabric, now already leaving marks.

  
"I mean it, Chris. There´s no way I... walk away from this without..." He was silenced fast when the searching mouth wandered lower, coming to kiss a bare chest, first the delicate skin around before cherishing Piers´ right nipple. Said one moaned even though he tried to hold it back. Chris saw all these scars, licked over them. Sometimes Piers had the feeling he was following their lines with how he zig-zagged over his chest and damn it, he felt cherished by this man like never anyone ever made him feel before.

  
Chris had now reached his navel, plunging his tongue inside, earning a weak shudder from the one underneath him. Piers waited in sweet anticipation but contrary to until now, Chris didn´t move any lower anymore, just continued to kiss and lick his belly. It drove Piers nearly insane. In addition to that, Piers was dying to explore this man in front of him as well. He had been satisfied with letting his hands wander over his back and shoulders until now but... he was growing so damn impatient...  
"Chris... Chris..." No reaction. No matter how hard Piers was urging him with gestures to go lower, he wouldn´t.

  
The former sniper had enough.

  
When he pushed the older one over, he felt how he first resisted but then, eventually, let it happen. Otherwise, there would have been no way Piers would have gotten on him anyway. In contrary to Chris, the younger one got there faster, growing impatient of... wanting. After he got over his first fear of loss of control.

  
Placing both his hands firmly on these delicious muscles on his chest, Piers felt the wish to touch this body just growing stronger. Chris under him agreed with a nod when Piers shot him a questioning look and Piers went right ahead.

  
Kisses, licks, nibbles. Everything that Piers could create with his mouth. On his skin. And Chris felt like he was in heaven, his own body way too hot to be in.

  
"Piers...", he let out between clenched teeth as he screwed his eyes shut as well. Like on cue, the other one decided to top his game once more and now bluntly sat down on Chris´ belly. The black fabric of Piers´ briefs was thin and tight on his skin and goddamn, Chris could feel the warmth radiating from him on his skin where he sat down. There was so much heat...

  
"Chris..." He seemed to answer him and pressed a passionate kiss to his lips. But it didn´t hold for long before Piers slid further down, dragging his behind over firm muscles, never losing contact. Chris held his breath. And let it out in a raspy moan the moment Piers came to rest in his lap. Like literally his lap.

  
His weight pressed down on Chris and just two layers of fabric weren't much to keep you from feeling. Piers had it just as bad, the boy was panting as if they were already at it, a huge blush on his face but his eyes never leaving Chris´.

  
They continued to lock eyes until Piers slightly pushed himself upwards, his butt hanging in the air. Chris´ eyes slightly widened as he saw what was coming. But there was no time to think or speak as Piers lowered himself again, letting himself more or less fall onto Chris´ briefs, pressing down on him.

  
The older one moaned out while throwing his head back with squinted eyes, back arching in the sudden pleasure that flooded his lower region. His hands shot up and practically clawed down in Piers´ hips. The sniper was trying real hard to keep any sounds inside, you could see that.

  
Goddammit, Chris thought bitterly, they weren´t even really fucking yet. This barely counted as dry fucking through clothes! Neither the less, he felt himself harden in his underwear in an alarmingly fast pace and with him more or less resting between the other one´s ass cheeks, Piers would find out just as fast. Chris threw a quick glance downwards onto Piers.

  
There were plain obvious contours as well, pressing against the fabric of Piers´ briefs. Piers obviously liked what they were doing here just as much. Chris thought about reaching for them but hesitated. The thought got wiped clean off his mind the next moment anyway as Piers started rolling his hips in little circular motions on his middle through the fabric.

  
Piers knew what he was doing, Chris suddenly realized. It likely wasn´t the first time he played bottom for someone. He slept with men before. Which gave him a huge advantage over Chris, it dawned on the older one. It triggered something in Chris. For a moment he couldn´t pinpoint what, then he knew it was the need to have this man that intensified.

  
He wanted to know how good he could be doing. Wanting to know that he could be better than anyone else that was there before him. Twice as good. Making Piers feel twice as good.

  
Chris´ hands wandered from these hips over to cup the other´s behind, shamelessly kneading these globes and stopping him from the movement for now. Piers´ curious eyes found his again.

  
"...?"

  
"Down with these...!" As to refer to them, Chris went for Piers´ waistband, pulled on it lightly and let it slap against skin when letting it go. Maybe more forceful than it was necessary, making Piers jump lightly at the stinging feeling.

  
This wasn´t just about cute, little body exploring like he swore to himself in the beginning. Piers had demonstrated fully well that he was sure and willing about these things and Chris trusted the kid to know what he was doing. If he really wanted it so bad, Chris would give it to him. Hard.

  
Neither less to say, Piers went at it with great enthusiasm. Chris was positive he never saw such a smug expression on that face when Piers pushed himself up, just supporting himself on his shins and knees on either side of Chris. His hands left Chris´ chest, where they had still rested on and came to grab his waistband on both sides of his hips. He played with it, letting his fingers glide along it just to kill some time and tease Chris. Too bad that Chris could see right through his little game and, even if it was hard, sat through it with an interested expression until finally, Piers seemed to have enough himself.

  
For the split of a second, Chris felt like seeing a small hint of uncertainty cross Piers´ face before he took a calm breath, his chest so deliciously heaving before pulling them down just above his knees in a quick movement, as far as the stretching fabric would allow.

  
Chris tried not to stare too much to not make him too uncomfortable. But what are you supposed to do when it´s your first time with your crush that´s the same gender. In general, sex involved a lot of staring so eventually, he didn´t feel too bad letting his eyes linger on him. Once again, of course he´d seen him before in the showers and stuff but... this was sexual intercourse they were heading for and Chris felt so hellishly turned on that he could feel his own manhood give a twitch in his boxers.

  
Piers was perfect, Chris thought with a grin. He was well developed. He stood at attention. Chris liked it.

  
The more painfully long and quiet the seconds passed, the more Piers seemed to be able to deal with these obvious stares Chris sent his way down there. Eventually, he let out a chuckle through full lips and was able to get rid of his briefs completely which had been rather awkward in this position, kneeling over Chris but trying to push them down your legs at the same time. Chris could forgive him that lousy display of sex appeal.

  
"What about yours, old man?"

  
Piers found his voice again and it reeked of cunning and smug just like the expression on his face as the sniper brought his hands down left and right from Chris´ head, leaning forwards on all fours so he was completely covering his older partner.

  
He was so close to his face, Chris hastily swallowed the saliva that started to collect on his tongue to speak properly.

  
"Uh, ah... I´m feeling so weak today.", he mocked him with a faked pained expression on his face before it returned to serious and his voice dropped two octaves just like in its volume as he scooted their faces still a little closer. "Why don´t you take care of it if they bother you?"

  
Contrary to what he just said, his hands once more came to lay on his ass, this time clawing into skin and holding him in place. After a surprised yelp, Piers took once more a deep breath and raised one eyebrow in question. "And how do you imagine that with you holding me in-...!"

  
Piers stopped instantly in the middle of his sentence as his eyes went wide, staring blank at an invisible spot on the wall past Chris when he felt it. A single finger dared to find its way between cheeks and slipped closer to his entrance, never stopping to slowly brush over sensitive skin.

  
"Ch-Chris...!" He had no idea why he was suddenly so shocked as he frantically looked down to search for eye contact. Maybe it was the fact that it had been quite some time he had last been touched like that. Hazel finally found chocolate brown and the love and affection that they threw back at him immediately made him shut up and relax some. Relax in the touch. Even as the searching digit finally found its target and genuinely careful laid itself against his quivering orifice.

  
Piers felt his eyelids sliding shut but he merely allowed them to lower halfways as he wished to maintain eye contact with his lover, who now allowed a little smirk on his lips as he began rubbing against him. The sniper tried to stay just as relaxed as he had been a second before. He knew that it was more than important, especially with how things would likely go down not too long from now. But getting touched like that by the man you practically lusted over for years already was making him so unbelievably hot.

  
Chris went further, apparently thinking the same as his index finger, for the first time ever, breached that sensitive ring of muscles and slipped inside Piers, drawing a wanton mewl from him. God, Chris just wished they could speed this up somehow. But god help him if he wouldn't do anything he could to make this as pleasuring for Piers as possible.

  
Chris, of course, knew how to pleasure a woman with nothing more than merely two to three fingers. If necessary until she came from the mere action of it. What Chris was much more unfamiliar with was if it worked for a male as equally. Coming to the verdict that, yes probably, nothing held him back anymore as he first as slow as possible pushed his first finger inside his boyfriend as far as he could reach.

  
Piers groaned. Loudly.

  
Wanting to hear more of this beautiful sound until Piers´ throat would go dry, Chris slowly withdrew again, slow, painfully so, just to ram it inside him again, this time fast, strong. Once again Piers moaned, throwing his head a little back while doing so.   
Damn, Chris could tell already that Piers was one of these vocal ones. Oh jolly.

  
But more than that it was the expression on his face that only intensified the moment Chris continued the pumping motion between his legs.

  
A mixture between total bliss and torture. His eyes had long retreated back into his skull, his eyebrows drawn up in a submissive manner and the cutest tone of red on those cheekbones. Chris could tell it´s been a long time for him... It was obvious in the way he needily pushed his behind back against the resistance of his finger.

  
Alright, he wanted to play with the big boys. He´d give it to him.

  
Without much of a signal, Chris inserted a second finger as he was about to push it in again and Piers reacted, having it felt instantly.

  
"Gnh..." His arms gave up under him, sending his upper body crashing down on top of Chris. Said one barely let out a grunt as the air slightly was pushed out his lungs but in the end, the impact was weak and he didn´t let himself be interrupted much as he resumed to his prior actions of fingering. Piers´ head was now resting on his broad chest, panting, while his behind was still high in the air even though his thighs gave a shiver once in a while.

  
Neitherless, Chris never stopped finger fucking him.

  
Inserting now a third finger, he expected more from Piers but in the end, he barely seemed to react. Just let out a huff while his hands found their way to Chris' shoulders, holding onto them for dear life.

  
With now three fingers inside, Chris took a little more time. Sometimes he´d go slow, sometimes brutally fast and deep for so many fingers. Sometimes he´d spread them lightly, scissoring Piers to which, Chris learned fast, Piers responded the most.   
The sniper ace now lightly pushed his head from Chris´ sweaty chest to look him in the eye for a long moment before he lowered it again, his lips going straight to wrap themselves around one of Chris' nipples, nibbling carefully.

  
Chris stopped in his motion for the tiniest second. This felt good. This felt nice...

  
He never remembered any woman doing that to him. Why would they? Apparently, it wasn´t their ideal fantasy to lap up the nipples of the guy they were sleeping with. But Piers here... his tongue slid over it before he brushed his teeth with the biggest care against it, which drew a slight moan from Chris that sounded more like a dreamy sigh that he couldn´t hold back anymore. Slim fingers let go of Chris' shoulder and drove down, finding the other one as well and playing with it.

  
It took Chris some concentration to rip his mind from the distraction and return to his actions of preparing the younger one. Piers, however, never stopped licking and kissing and Chris felt his own mind beginning to get cloudy from desire and pleasure, his thrusting inside Piers growing more irregular and erratic.

  
He couldn´t wait. Couldn´t wait to fuck the younger one. He liked to imagine it already. It would be warm. It would be tight. It would be Piers.

  
That was the last and final thought he needed to decide that Piers would be fine and they should just fucking start already.   
"Piers..." That was as much as all the warning he got before Chris pulled out all his fingers in a fast move. He needed it. Bad.   
The lips on his chest left him and Piers looked him in the eye again. He suddenly felt so empty after Chris left him. Piers continued to look him in the eye but got the message rather fast. Chris didn't even need to say it. 'If you feel so empty, like you want it, then get it.' So Piers did.

  
He was upright again faster than Chris could register and crawled backwards, never breaking eye contact, before he let himself down on Chris´ legs, the gray briefs just in front of him. Just now did Piers break away from the other one's eyes and dropped them to what was before him.

  
Chis was hard. Hard as a rock. It was obvious even through the fabric. A dark wet spot had formed there as well, indicating that Chris might already be leaking precum for some time. Not that Piers was sure at this point anymore that he himself wasn´t. Not that he wanted to look down at himself and check that.

  
He didn´t even need confirmation with any other gestures as Chris bucked his hips, making it clear as day what he wanted from Piers. Being obedient as ever, Piers granted his wish and took a firm grip of the smooth fabric, swallowed some collecting saliva which made his Adam's apple bob in excitement before slowly pulling them down inch by inch, revealing more skin by the second.

  
Piers´ eyes never left the waistband that stretched over skin, heading further downwards until Piers actually had to pull it up since Chris was too hard for it to just slip over there as well. The last bit Piers sped up and actually yanked them down all the way, Chris now sprang free to greet him in excitement.

  
Piers instantly blushed two shades darker. He wanted to look away, anywhere, preferable Chris´ eyes or anything but his eyes stayed glued right where they were, wandering all over his cock.

  
Chris was.. quite big. More so than he remembered his previous partners being. Slight anxiety filled him and he wondered silently if that would be somewhere even close to a comfortable fit.

  
"You like it, soldier?"

  
His eyes ripped from the source of his interest and met the owner´s orbs. Piers bit his lips as these rough lips stretched into one of these shit-eating smirks. As if he exactly knew what was going on in Piers. Well, he probably did.

  
Reluctant to speak, Piers willed the blush in his cheeks away with mediocre success and raised his lightly shaking voice. Dammit.

  
"It´s okay. I mean, I´ve seen worse."

  
"Of course you did..." Damn him. Him and his so self-assured, courage dripping voice.   
Piers huffed offended in his direction but his features got softer with each passing second in silence before his eyes slipped down once more before he could stop them.

  
So this was it, huh? Getting down on Chris and taking it like a man. His heart throbbed dangerously fast in his chest and his emotions were all over the moon. The rustling of the bedsheets made him look up. Chris propped himself up on his elbows and his head leaned slightly to the side. If they would have been in any other kind of situation, Piers would have said it looked cute.

  
"Hey...", he started and Piers already heard the worried undertone. "We don´t have-"

  
"No." Piers lightly shook his head with a smile. He wouldn´t allow Chris to even begin to worry. "We are going to." Piers wanted to say more. But he wasn´t too sure what or how. So he just settled with stretching his smile a little wider before he crawled a little forward again. He stopped... just above him. He knew how to do this. He rode people before. He´d just make sure that he never was so good in his life like right now. Cause this was Chris.

  
He searched for Chris´ eyes through all the haze and when he finally found them and a smile appeared on his face as well, just then did Piers settle one of his hands on Chris´ muscular sides to find support, the other cautiously made its way between their legs, getting a good and firm grip around Chris´ dick.

  
"Oh god..." Chris moaned out louder than he wanted to. But Piers´ touch was perfect.   
The reaction earned a shy smile from his partner as he carefully guided the other´s cock towards his entrance. "I´ll make you feel... so good..."

  
As if that was explanation enough, he pressed him close to his hole which already drew a hiss from the older one until it evolved into a loud moan moments later, when Piers decided to lower himself onto him.

  
He never stopped to gradually sink down on him with gritted teeth. Not until he finally took him all the way and came to rest in his lap, skin meeting skin. Chris´ long moans faded out, came to an end as he looked up in the younger one´s face through the white fuzzes dancing over his vision.

  
The second hand of the sniper came to rest on his chest now as well and Chris was able to feel the shaking which racked through this beautiful body on top of him. He didn´t move as he tried to get used to his size and length resting inside him now.

  
Neitherless, he had been able to take it all, really slowly, but in one go. Chris was impressed. If he had to think about how slow he had to go with some girls before he was even half in...  
But god, was he tight. And warm. All of this warmth that was so closely wrapped around his sensitive organ. It drove him insane. Without them even having started yet.

  
Chris raised a hand, guiding it carefully to Piers´ right cheek to stroke his face. His eyes were so tightly screwed shut, his teeth bared... it was anything but comfortable for him right now. Chris was patient and understanding.   
"Don´t move until you feel like it...", he whispered in the most loving voice he could muster in his turned on state. But right now, Piers was more important.

  
One eye slowly slid open followed by the other. For a moment, they stayed wide open like that before he started to rapidly blink the tears away that formed at the corner of his eyes. It... didn´t even hurt that much. Piers was just moved on a more emotional stage.

  
Chris loved him, didn´t he? And now they were here. Alive. Together. Everything they weren´t merely months ago.   
He felt Chris´ thumb brushing over his eye, wiping the wetness away. "Is it that bad...?" Piers once more felt breathless from the sincerity and love displayed in the gesture and the words. Slowly, he shook his head before he bent down towards Chris´ face, ignoring what the change of angle meant for his ass that got slightly stretched even further and planted an innocent and loving kiss to his lips.

  
"It´s everything. But it isn´t bad..." Piers pushed himself to his prior position, after a second of their breaths mingling and took another deep breath while getting a grip on his feelings.   
Fine... let´s rock this.

  
Finally letting the smug grin return to his face, Piers was hell bent on showing Chris the time of his life. So, being reminded that he was still almost painfully filled, his hands pressed down hard on Chris´ chest, feeling faintly his heart beat beneath his fingers from the excitement.

  
With slow, careful movements, Piers started to roll his hips in a circular manner like he had already done before. Just that this time he felt Chris. Deep inside. Piers let out a moan at the friction that was created from Chris´ cock running against his inner walls. His sounds, however, were overshadowed by Chris´ way deeper voice that groaned as well, louder, richer.   
This already felt so good for the older one. Piers was tight, dammit. Chris already felt the sweat collecting on his forehead. And when he eventually stopped with the rolling but pushed himself up...

  
"Piers..."

  
Down... In addition to the tight heat that indulged him and left him panting, Chris also felt fingernails digging into his skin now. His own hands were still firmly wrapped around the other´s waist, holding him in place and ready to give Piers some guidance if he would need it. But he seemed to be doing just fine by himself.

  
"Ngh...!" Piers threw his head back with a deep hum. For him, the pain from not too long ago, thankfully subsided fast and made space for the desire and pleasure bubbling in his belly every time Chris would pierce into there.

  
The young sniper had by now established a pace even if it was slow and careful. He continued to push himself up and down on his lover, bringing with it the sound of penetration and slapping flesh hanging in the air. He tried to aim with Chris at his own prostate which worked rather well, letting him feel Chris´ head brush against the sensitive bundle of nerves both when he entered or exited.

  
"Ahh..." Piers was such a moaning mess on top of him, Chris couldn´t look anywhere else but the younger´s face that screwed up so deliciously in pleasure.

  
Not that he himself had it any better... The stimulation on his cock got him shaking in delight, Piers was so good at this and he continued to speed up his pace, creating the best kind of pumping motion down there.

  
Their eyes met once more and suddenly Chris felt this desire burn inside him again. The need for this man and how to make him feel. Sure, he had to admit there was something about this nice, calm, almost lazy rhythm that Piers demonstrated in riding him. But... he kinda wanted more...

  
Making up his mind to fuck this kid into the mattress until he would completely destroy him under him, this night, Chris took a firm hold of both of Piers´ wrists. So firm he drew a short, uncomfortable yelp from him as Piers looked down in surprise at his wrists and then his face again. "What...?"

  
"Oh, you have no idea what you got yourself into..."

  
It was easy for Chirs to overpower Piers. Of course, it was. It had always been in combat training and this wasn´t that different, he thought, as he yanked Piers close to him just to roll over him in a swift movement, towering him in the matter of a few short seconds.

  
"Chris...-" Things began to look more different now. Chris crushed their lips together with such force it almost hurt right before his tongue lapped out and started to lure Piers into an open-mouthed, passionate kiss with teeth and tongues.

  
Chris let go of the other´s wrist and they shot up to his neck, snaking around it and pulling him close. His own hands were now supporting himself on either side of Piers´ head. The veteran felt Piers´ legs wrap around his hip now as well, pushing him even further inside. He took it as a cue to lead things his way now.

  
Without much of a warning, he thrusted into Piers. Hard. He didn't even try to hold anything back and was rewarded with the alluring and extremely hot feeling of his lover moaning into his mouth while still making out. This was the life...

  
Chris gave him little to no time to recover and designed his next few thrusts after the same strategy. He rammed into the younger one fast, hard, deep. Said one ripped his lips from Chris´, leaning his head back to be able to breathe, or more pant, without restriction. It got Chris to chuckle. Pretty breathless as well, he hated to admit.

  
But Piers was finally coming undone. This is how he wanted to see him. Sweat beginning to drip down his neckline that occasionally Chris would lap off, his chest rapidly heaving and lowering, not to mention the blush and the way he continued to chew his bottom lip in hopes to keep these many loud and sexy moans in check.

  
Chris found pride in the fact that he had a lot of stamina. If he wanted, he could last an eternity. But somehow, he got the feeling this time it would be different than all the time before when he got laid. This was special and he felt his body already lighting up at the thought of cumming inside the other. But before they would even get close to that part...

  
"Ahn..." Piers under him was like an all-consuming fire. So warm, so hot and tight. So passionate. His hands on his neck once more started to drag over skin, scratching and Chris wondered if that was a trait he always displayed. He´d have more than enough time to find out. And Chris didn´t know why but he always thought of Piers as a biter. It made sense that the memory of these thoughts came to him now and before he could even think about his own actions, the former Captain dropped to his elbows and forearms, bringing his face inches apart from the delicious neck with these red and white lines on it. Before locking eyes with Piers from the corner of their eyes and.. biting down.

  
Usually, biting wasn´t the way for Chris. Women were just too fragile to go all out on them for him most of the time. But with Piers, he knew he could take it. He knew he could fuck the sniper´s brains out all he wanted and he´d still be fine.

  
Like he thought, Piers yelled out loud. But Chris never stopped observing his face. Once real traces of pain would show up he´d stop, he swore himself. But no matter how high pitched and loud Piers shouted out his name and the continuing assault with teeth on his neck, there was always that hint of pleasure in his voice. So Chris continued.

  
The old, rusty bed frame gave a tired screech as another thrust of Chris rocked its battered mattress. Wasn´t it ironic how they were slightly disgusted over the fact that most likely people fucked in here already... and now they were at it?   
"You´re so beautiful..." The older one had now stopped the biting and hovered his mouth close to Piers´ ear, mumbling sweet, little nothings into it which got the sniper moaning in delight and panting with interest. Not that their brutal fucking didn't have anything to do with it as well.

  
Slowly, Piers opened his eyes again which seemed like the most exhausting thing in the world right now and these hazel shining orbs got Chris´ heart to skip a beat.

  
"Babe... you´re such an amazing person...", he raspily breathed out through slightly swollen lips. Chris swallowed the lump down in his throat but never stopped in his strong, hard rhythm of pounding into Piers. That bastard was so damn selfless, someone ever told him that?!

  
Snorting, Chris locked their lips again this time more lovingly than needy.

  
He felt it so close under the surface... So fast, so clear like never before approaching while pleasing someone. But being in Piers couldn´t rival anything he ever felt before. No other person, no matter how pretty or experienced ever made him feel like that and Chris knew that from here on out there was no going back. There was no going back once you had sex with Piers Nivans.

  
"I´m... so close...", the older whispered through the locking of lips and it sounded almost disappointed, embarrassed, knowing that he might be able to do better than that.

  
But Piers sighed in satisfaction and wrapped his arms a little tighter around him, sweaty hot skin rubbing against each other. "Not the only one...", he admitted with a bitter smile as if he thought the same about himself.

  
Chris understood. It was time to wrap this up and bring this to a nice, unforgettable end for both of them. He shifted his weight on his left forearm so he could use the other one without restriction. Before Piers knew what happened, a hand came to firmly wrap around his length, giving it a good tug without wasting much time.

  
"Ugh...!" Watching how Piers threw his head back again and his back arched was beautiful for Chris. He continued to let his hand slid up and down his partner´s erection to push him over the edge as fast as he could now. At least that was a motion Chris knew how to do. It helped him more than enough times in the past and jacking someone else off wasn´t much of a difference.

  
Neither less, he still paid great attention to the thrusting still as well to satisfy his own dirty needs. He could feel the build up in this twitching cock in his hand though and sped his own pumping movements up a little.

  
However, coming together was obviously something they wouldn´t achieve tonight as Piers, after picking up his moaning sounds to almost deafening screams at the end, came under him after Chris had continuously rubbed his thumb over the slit at his tip.

  
"Chris!" His name sounded so wonderful screamed in climax by those pouty lips. Chris' eyes were glued to his face and the different stages of expression that crossed it, that he was almost surprised when he suddenly felt the warm, sticky liquid running down between his fingers.

  
He threw a glance downwards to see the mess Piers had left. His whole hand and even a little of his chest were covered in jizz. Piers´ belly himself though, looked worse. Eyeing the white fluid a little suspiciously, Chris couldn´t stop himself from raising his hand to his face and, after some hesitation, sampled a little of it with his tongue.

  
If he was honest, it didn´t taste too bad. In its very own way there was even something special to it and thinking once more on this day 'Fuck it', Chris began to lick the rest of it off his hand as well.

  
When he eventually let up from his hand and looked down at his lover again, he saw the half-lidded stare he threw his way. He had seen that. In fact, Piers seemed to more than just like what he just did... But he also saw the tiredness that crept up in his eyes and Chris understood that he needed to stop torturing this boy soon.

  
"Ghn..." The older one pushed himself up now, hands coming to rest on strong hip bones. Looking down on Piers like that, he looked gorgeous. Freshly fucked with his cute cowlick sticking to his forehead, caused by the sweat. This exhausted stare he was sending his way plus the blush that had never really left his face. That image and the fact that Piers was suddenly extremely tight, all his muscle pressing down on Chris´ erection from all sides, more so than before, helped Chris reach his own orgasm astonishingly fast after some more sloppy thrusts from his part.

  
"Piers..." Chris was a lot less vocal and loud when he came. Screwing his eyes shut, thrusting as deep into the other as he could reach, Chris just let all his pleasure out with a long but rather quiet sigh of his name.

  
Said one moaned like as if he answered him when he felt Chris shooting his seed deep inside, filling him to the brim with cum and even with him still inside, Piers already felt it pressing past Chris ´cock, outside, and onto the sheets.

  
There was so much warmth inside him suddenly. Piers gave a lewd mewl at the feeling of it. For the longest few seconds of their lives, both of them just continued to remain in their positions, motionless as they came back down from their highs, riding out the last feelings of their orgasms.

  
Slowly, Chris looked down just to find Piers staring at him already. On both of their faces formed a smile that stretched into a grin, which again turned into a small chuckle from both of them even if it sounded more like desperately trying not to suffocate from the lack of air in their lungs.

  
Stopping the chuckle to rather concentrate on getting his breathing back under control, Chris waited another moment before slowly beginning to pull his cock out of Piers, which left them gasping and panting at the feeling of now sensitive flesh once more rubbing against each other.

  
Chris couldn´t avert his eyes as he watched his own seed pour out off Piers´ entrance, dirtying their sheets. The image was alluring and so intimate- if he wouldn't have been so spend, it might have turned him on once more right away.

  
"Chris..." The shaky voice of Piers made him look up again and there was the most genuine and loving smile on these lips. "...This was great..."

  
This was a fucking understatement. Neither less Chris just nodded with a smile himself rather than showering Piers with big, sappy words. "It was..."

  
Now with all of this out of the way, Chris felt how his desire and need gave way to tired exhaustion. And Piers appeared to feel quite the same. Without using much more words than 'Move over, babe.', Chris let himself fall down on the folded out couch, which gave an offended squeak, and pressed Piers close to him, head resting on his chest.

  
For what felt like forever, no one of the two said a word, even though they were aware that the other was still awake until Piers eventually pressed a kiss to Chris´ chest and whispered almost inaudible against his skin.

  
"I love you..."

  
Chris froze in all his motion, even breathing for the shortest time.

  
It wasn´t that he didn´t know it yet, he did. It was just... a whole different feeling when he finally said it. It sounded sappy but in a way, it felt like living a whole new life now. He couldn´t remember the last time he had anyone so close to say these words to him... except Claire of course. And now it was Piers...

  
His eyes fell down to him and by the time that had already passed, Piers met his eyes with an almost uncertain stare for receiving no answer. Chris smirked before his index finger slid under the younger one´s chin and lifted his head up, closer to his own lips.

  
"I love you too, Piers...", he just whispered back in the same quiet volume before pressing their lips together.

  
These words had felt foreign in his own mouth, but damn it all to hell if he wouldn´t try and say them more often now.   
They broke apart shortly after and Piers had resumed to his earlier position to press his head close to Chris´ chest before he had wished him a good night with a smirk himself.

  
"G´night, Piers..." Wrapping an arm around Piers, Chris closed his eyes as well and soon found peaceful sleep.


	23. Tell Me Something I Don´t Know

"Listen, Claire,... we can play this nice and easy and everyone walks out of here alright and happy...!" Leon practically snarled her name in her face in a way that was the first time she ever heard it while bringing both his palms in a way too exaggerated manner on the table, leaving it shaking for the split of a second under the force. "Or... you can keep playing this game and see what you get..."

  
It was as if he didn´t know her anymore. Leon had never spoken to the younger Redfield like this ever before! For the first time, Claire actually thought Leon Kennedy could be scary if he wanted to.

  
Chris was gone. He had bailed with Nivans.

  
In a way Claire could understand, even felt happy for them to have made it out of here in the last second. That Piers was alright and with Chris. If things wouldn´t suck for her like this right now she would have applauded him to have pulled this stunt off.

  
But now Leon, Jill, Barry, everyone how was ever close to her and dealt with bioterror before was after her. After all, she was Chris´ sister...

  
"Like I told you a million times before, Leon...", she raised her voice as well. "I have no idea where Chris and Piers are! Believe me, if they don´t want to be found... you don´t find them!"

  
"So you´re saying you had no contact with them whatsoever since they dropped off the radar..."

  
"That´s what I´ve been trying to tell you guys for a full fucking month straight, Kennedy! Chris took Piers somewhere that no one knows! What, do you think he´s so fucking stupid to get me into more trouble by telling me?!"

  
Just now did Leon seem to relax some and actually sat down, thank god. His standing around and pacing through the room had made her almost lose her damn mind...

  
"You´re his baby sister..." Claire suppressed a snort but still couldn´t stop the sarcasm drip from her voice. "I was, for the longest time. Goddammit Leon, we barely have contact these days!"

  
"Look..." The dark blond agent leaned forward onto the table now. "Claire, I´m the best bet you have. We both go back a long way so I´m just trying to be nice here to you. You know the others don´t..."

  
He was right. Ever since Chris had made his big escape, the BSAA had come up to TerraSave right away with her as the target. Claire got suspended after the higher-ups agreed on it, and put under 24/7 surveillance. In a small room somewhere in the BSAA HQ. They would question here a lot, sometimes hours without end. An easy way of breaking people. But not someone like Claire. If she didn´t know anything then there was nothing to break!

  
It were the same people who came every day. First Leon, sometimes Jill, which was still pretty nice and understanding to her as well, after all, they both go back even longer than her and Leon. Barry would drop by if he found the time. With his new role as the director that was rare though. From all of these people, it hurt her the most to talk with him. He had always been like a father figure. Ever since Chris got to know him in the Air Force. Their replacement after their parents died...  
His talks were full of guilt, how disappointed he was... It broke her heart but she still couldn´t tell him anything even if she wanted to.

  
"I don´t even understand your problem. Piers was fine! He was fucking fine. He was-"

  
"A thread.", Leon finished her sentence with such cold she never heard from him.

  
"We thought he was okay, we really did. But the remains of the virus were evident, Claire. You know the lightning story, the electricity... And our researchers had all reason to believe that Anti-C, that they developed through Jake, had an effect, yes... but it runs out, Claire. You hear me, the more time passes by, the more unstable he gets!" Leon got more worked up by the second and Claire could connect the dots faster than she would have liked...

  
"You know what that means right? The longer Chris hangs out with him... the more dangerous it gets for him. It´s not unlikely that he turns on your brother sooner or later...!" Once again Leon pushed himself from the table, going back to pacing through the room.

  
"Claire... we´re all in the same boat here, we always were...! We´re trying to keep the world safe from bioterror-related threats. We´re trying to save as many lives as possible. And right now, the life of your brother might fall in there too..."  
Claire held his gaze as calm as she could. But inside she was freaking out.

  
Of course, she had liked Piers at the rare occasions where they had met. She knew he was good for Chris. They worked well together, they clicked, off and on the field. But the thought of the virus inside him, got her fearing for her brother´s well-being.

  
"This is why TerraSave and the DSO got called in as well. This wouldn´t even be my dish to clean up. But... we need all the help we can get as long as there is still a BOW on the loose."  
Piers was not a BOW. He was a perfectly fine human being!

  
"Leon...-!" Wanting to get up now as well, she was ready to go all out on him. These people needed to fucking learn their lesson about humanity. Sure, the life of one person can´t endanger the well-being of the majority but this...

  
But before she could even raise her voice at him, the door got forcefully pushed open. So hard that it collided with the wall behind it when it sprung open. Leon´s head whipped around just like her´s and she could see the anger in his face but it died down in a snort the moment Jake Muller entered the dark questioning room.

  
"Alright, Agent Pretty Hair. I got this, you can go now...!"

  
Claire didn´t even know why Jake Muller was even let into these investigations. Apparently, the BSAA was really desperate to find her brother and Nivans...

  
She sat on her seat again in annoyance. She hated it when Jake talked to her about this. These were the worst. But in the last days, she didn´t see any trace of him, Jill had said he was following some trails. She had hoped he´d stay away a little longer... But on a positive note, that could just mean they didn´t find Chris.

  
Leon walked past him without a word and shut the door with more force than necessary. Claire just wished she could just walk out on him like the blonde.

  
Jake made his way over to the second chair now, painfully slow before he lazily fell into it and placed both his feet on the table. Fucking rude... It got Claire growling in sheer anger. Her mother would have told her one or two things whenever she had done that! But then again Jake Muller apparently never had learned any manners.

  
"Found your brother, you know..." Claire´s face fell and she stared at him with big eyes. That couldn´t be. Was everything... already over? Oh no, Chris...

  
"But dipshit made friends in there incredibly fast like it seems...", he yawned in disinterest before rubbing over the back of his head as if he was still in pain over something.

  
"Don´t worry, I´ll get his fat ass. And when I do, I pay him back, sweetie."

  
It wasn´t hard to make the connection with Wesker if he was in front of you. Not that Claire had much to do with Wesker back at the day when Chris was still in S.T.A.R.S. but there wasn´t much time you had needed to spend with this guy to get tired of him, which led Chris into big trouble whenever he and the others gave him shit in shape and form of terrible pranks on the former S.T.A.R.S. Captain.

  
And furthermore than that, Claire couldn´t understand, almost felt betrayed at the fact, that Sherry was obviously on his side now. She didn't have the pleasure to talk to the blonde girl yet in person ever since things escalated that much but whenever she had asked Jake about her... she apparently was cool with this whole... messed up witch hunt after Chris and Piers.

  
That or Jake liked to see things in general through his fucked point of view. Probably the latter.

  
"The BSAA won´t let you touch him..."

  
"Oh, but sweetie... I have permission to 'defend' myself once he or Puppy try something funny. And believe me, I'll make use of it." Finally, he took his dirty, muddy boots from the table, of course leaving some dark stains on it, before leaning towards her, similar to how Leon did it. This time she found herself backing up.

  
"Also, by the way, you still think the BSAA just takes silently what happened? Everyone is pissed as fuck about your brother. They don´t care anymore..."

  
Claire stayed silent a that. Well, she didn´t expect them to be too happy about what happened, sure. But... Jill and Barry still had a lot to say and they couldn't just give up on him, right? Right...

  
"You know, I believe you. You don´t know where they are. Sure. I wouldn´t need your help anyway even if you did. I tracked that fucker down once, I can do it a second time."

  
Apparently Jake planned that visit a lot shorter than all the ones before because he already pushed himself to his feet with one of those smugly grins that got Claire rolling her eyes. Looks like he just came to tell her about the news... and probably feel really cool about it. But before he could leave the room, the redhead still had an opportunity to raise her voice.

  
"Sherry." Muller stopped dead in his tracks. "Isn´t she totally disappointed in you?" Claire´s voice sounded way too innocent for her words.

  
"I know her better, longer than you. I was everything Sherry ever had for the longest time. And for the longest time, Chris was everything I had. I would have liked to see her face when she found out you´re back to your old way, killing people for money. And the older brother of her 'sister' for the matter..."

  
By now Jake had already reached the door and only turned his head to send her a wide, self-loving grin before walking out on her without an answer just like that. And there was nothing Claire could do about it.

  
"..."

  
"Jake!" Right after closing the heavy metal door behind himself, the former mercenary already felt the presence of this fragile human being behind him which got him whirling around. It was Sherry. Not that he had expected anyone else.

  
"Hey, Supergirl..." The Birkin daughter was a wonderful creature. She was beautiful to look at, intelligent as hell and deadlier than a lioness if she wanted to be. Yet Jake never felt so protective over someone before.

  
"How is Claire? Did you tell her that we bring Chris back to her?"

  
...She didn´t need to know.

  
For Sherry, this was all a big rescue mission. Even if everyone else already knew they were hunting down the both former soldier just to put them down... Sherry still believed in a happy end. He couldn´t blame her. But she didn´t need to know.   
"I told her we have a lead and follow it now. That we... will know their location sooner or later." Yes, they would. But they wouldn´t let Claire see Chris again. Jake realized he had no idea when the last time was the Redfields probably saw each other. Just that that had been the last time.

  
"That´s good. She needs to know we´ll find them safe and sound..." Jake turned his head away lightly. "I still don´t understand why no one lets me talk to her..." The blond, short-haired girl sighed and Jake suppressed the need to wrap his arms around the female agent. He had a job to finish. Even if this job would probably make her hate him until the end of days. You had to bring sacrifices. He learned that early on.

  
"Just stay low for now. We don´t need more commotion than we already have." He settled with ruffling her hair instead which got her squirming and taking a bunch of hasty steps back.

  
"Fine... but I will accompany you when you look for them again, alright? Hanging around in these white halls gets me all anxious..." He could understand. The same thing he was feeling as well, after being probed with needles for six months straight in China. And for him, it was barely six months, for her... a bunch of years.

  
"Sure... I´ll tell you once we get the order to move out."

Except that he wasn´t planning on it in the slightest.


	24. Rapture

"Ugh..."

  
The moment his consciousness kicked in, he felt like he was run over by a bunch of Napads... Which wasn´t even that far-stretched. After all, Chris Redfield and a Napad had more similarities as you might think.

  
Giving another tired groan, the sniper rolled around towards the middle of the bed just to find the other half completely empty. Alright, Chris told him his sleep was deep but not having noticed that at all...

  
His hand reached out, slid over the sheets. The familiar scent of Chris was here but his side was cold. No wonder, winter was right around the corner. The trailer was still acceptable in daytime but as soon as the night came... Piers was more than glad they bought the extra pillows and covers.

  
Piers rolled over on Chris´ side, pulling all the blankets draping over his body with him, wrapping him into a perfect blanket burrito at which he gave a little laugh. He felt so much better than in the forest when... he lost control like that. Piers liked to regard Chris for that. How couldn´t he after such a night.

  
For some more long minutes, he just observed the ceiling and didn´t think about anything. Something he didn´t do for the longest time. But the nagging question about Chris´ whereabouts raised in his brain and eventually, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Which he lightly regretted right after.

  
He felt it. He felt right where Chris was last night. It wasn´t a stinging pain or much hurtful at all. But there was an everlasting pressure at his orifice that lightly got uncomfortable the moment he shifted his weight. God, it´s been so long since he felt something similar.

  
"Ngh..." Carefully, the sniper threw his legs over the edge of the bed and pushed himself up on his feet. Down below on the floor, their clothes from last night were lying abandoned. Somewhere in between them was even the small stuffed bear, must have fallen off last night. With a smile, Piers placed him back on the bed, this time not on his side like usual, but in the middle.

  
Now standing upright in the room, Piers could make out their trailer door slightly being ajar which might have explained the cold atmosphere inside. So Chris wasn´t in here. Setting up his mind to scout it out, Piers looked for his briefs in the bundle of discarded clothes on the floor and pulled them on real fast before tip-toeing his way over to the exit.

  
He pushed it open slightly and carefully let his gaze wander over the scenery outside. It came to lay on Chris´ back turned towards the trailer. The older one was sitting in the grass, a few meters away from him. Just like that. It didn´t look like he did anything until Piers made out the cigarette in his hand. The sniper frowned disapprovingly but by now he got used to it. Chris knew what he was doing. And it wasn´t like he did it often.

  
The only thing that confused him about the image was that Chris didn´t wear clothing on his upper body, leaving his back in a nice bare sight. Sure, there were no people around here so technically it wasn´t a problem but... it was cold, wasn't it?  
Piers felt the cold on his exposed skin already and who knew how long the other was already here. But Chris was always unbelievingly warm himself, like a goddamn furnace. Also, he had seen military units training like that as well, with as less on them as possible in cold environments to get them used to it at least a little. In the end, Piers didn't think it bothered Chris much.

  
With that in mind, Piers carefully set his first bare foot out of the trailer and on the grass, before holding back a hiss. It was cold, yes, but at least the grass was dry with no trace of dew or anything else, which made it bearable.  
Drawing the second foot behind and coming to a firm stand, the younger one noticed his own breath coming out in cool clouds. Dismissing it with a shake of his head, he slowly walked over to his lover and sat next to him in the grass without a word breaking the fragility of this silence.

  
They continued to just sit there for a while, staring right ahead. Just after a little more moments passing by, did Piers turn his head to observe Chris a little further. His cigarette wasn´t much more than halfway done, most of the time it just burned down all by its own, just occasionally did Chris indeed inhale it. But so less that it gave the impression that he didn´t need to light one in the first place.

  
His eyes looked lively, happy even. More so than before. Piers took it that Chris already took his pill for the day. He always had a little high after he did.

  
Hazel eyes wandered lower but frowned as they laid on something that was resting on his muscular chest. Something that hung loosely from his neck, but shouldn´t be there in the first place. Not anymore.

  
His dogtags.

  
Confused eyes jumped from them up to Chris´ eyes but no reaction came so they settled on the two pieces of steel again after a second.

  
They both had stopped wearing them soon after their escape. Of course, it was easier to pass as a normal bystander if you did and additional there was no reason to wear them anymore. At first, it had been strange, being used to wear them 24/7 without a break sometimes. But also because he had always felt the strong sense of unity like that. The BSAA had given Piers a reason and a cause. For the longest time, they were the closest to a family he had. He had put everything he got into this job. It had been his life. Just like for Chris.

  
And suddenly all of that didn´t matter anymore. Suddenly all of these people, your former friends, want you dead. Actually, he had no reason to feel bad to have taken them off.

  
"Why are you-" The first few words of the new day got suffocated in the seed as Chris´ strong arm came to shoot forward, around his neck and pulling him close. His head was pressed against Chris´ naked shoulder and it left him breathless for a second.

  
"Don´t start the morning like that..." Chris´ rough voice was slightly hoarse and it got Piers remembering what exactly happened between them. He wondered if he sounded like that too. Probably. If not a lot worse than Chris.

  
But somehow he was right. Piers didn´t know why he suddenly wore them but... there was still another time to ask it. He cuddled his face into the crook of Chris´ neck and the arm on his back stroked him in a calming manner.

  
Not much after, Chris spoke up once again, making the scratching in his voice more than obvious. "How are you feeling, babe?"

  
It was obvious what Chris meant. It was endearing in a way, that he asked.

  
"Alright, I guess..." Piers was fast to clear his throat to at least gain some stability back in his voice. "I´m... not in pain if you mean that...", he whispered against the still warm skin through the cold air.

  
Admitting that, yes, he was a little embarrassed talking about what happened, Piers shifted his weight, inching closer so it was more comfortable for him to let his head rest on Chris´ shoulder. After he did, he felt a pressure on his head that he identified soon as Chris laying his head on top of his.

  
"I´m glad then."

  
Some more moments passed and Piers decided that this was the best birthday Chris could have ever pulled off for him.   
Shifting his eyes to the side, a bunch of letters met his eyes.

  
REDFIELD  
CHRIS                                                                                                                                                                                   BSAA S.O.U.  
NORTH AMERICA                                                                                                                                                                       0 (RH POSITIVE)

  
"Chris... I still don´t understan-" "I love you, Piers..."

  
Once again it got Piers stopping in his sentence. The younger one´s eyes shifted to the ground even if Chris couldn´t see it. Even if Piers gave his hardest to try and stay focused on his question, it was easy for his thoughts to get carried away. It was just... still so new. To hear that from Chris. To hear it in general. It was simply put a gorgeous feeling.

  
"L-Love ya too..." "Hmn.~" A soft kiss was pressed to his head.  
But no matter how good it felt, it still left Piers wondering...

  
Right after Chris´ lips left his hair, the sniper raised his head so they were both facing each other again, surprised brown eyes met his. And Chris got ready to dish out another response to change the subject but before he could, Piers already pressed their cheeks together in a somewhat awkward gesture. At first, Chris had no real idea, at all, what Piers wanted from him right now, just letting the sides of their faces rest against each other.

  
Then without an explanation, he lightly pushed his head up and down and the slight scratching sound of short hair resounded so quietly just for their ears. Slowly, carefully, it dawned on Chris and he let out a breathless chuckle, holding still for the younger one.

  
"I really like your stubble..." He heard it before. There was something about that some people really liked. Not just women for the matter. Chris had heard it from gay men before as well. He didn´t quite know what it was. But he didn´t mind the sensation of smooth skin on skin that was just the opposite.

  
Unintentionally, Chris remembered his father and that he used to do it as well while growing up. Even long after he passed as a kid, then again Chris had always been close to his dad...

  
Willing the painfully happy memories away from past days, the veteran much rather concentrated on everything he had right here and now.

  
"Want me to grow it out?", Chris chuckled ever though he already knew the answer to that.

  
"Hell no! You looked so bad before the Hansons forced you to fucking shave for once. Just... keep it short like that... Like that much more."

  
"Hah, sure." With another snicker, Chris added pressure as well and already saw it coming how Piers backed away from the touch getting too uncomfortable now. But Chris was right behind him, following his movements until Piers leaned back a little too much, losing his balance and falling flat on his back. Of course, it was unnecessary to say that Chris pinned him down a moment later.

  
"In contrary to you... I like smooth skin much more."

  
Holding down Piers´ wrists, the former sniper had little to no chance to defend himself as Chris´ lips and tongue started to follow his jawline all the way from his ear down to his neck.

  
"God, Chris... w-...we´re outside for christ´s sake!"

  
"With no people around though..."

  
Hell, Chris liked the fact that Piers barely grew facial hair. And when he did, he was fast to take care of it.

  
His tongue still followed this invisible trail down Piers´ neck towards his exposed chest and if he was honest, there was not much inside Chris that thought about stopping his journey. That being said, he still never got far when Piers underneath him struggled, writhed from side to side and Chris let go of him. Piers wiggled his way from underneath him.

  
"Not... here, dammit."

  
He had troubles when he pushed himself to his feet, with them still feeling kinda wobbly. But he still made it work and shot Chris a smug smile to make him understand he was fine. Keeping his mouth shut, Piers began walking back towards the trailer without another word.

  
Chris would be lying if he said he didn´t look after him. Because he did. And he didn´t fail to notice the change of Piers´ way of walking...

  
For a short moment, Chris thought about going after him right away but he liked the calmness of the morning too much to not just spend a little more time out here. He let himself fall backwards into the grass and rested his arms behind his head, closing his eyes. Piers would tell him if he needed him. For now-

  
_Zzh_

  
The flash of light even reached his vision through closed lids and they shot open to look right into the lens of the polaroid camera he gave to Piers last night. His lover lowered it and immediately took the photo that slowly pushed out of the front of the camera and snapped it through the air.

  
Chris felt a grin making its way to his lips.

  
"What do you photograph an old man for? You should rather take pictures of yourself..."

  
"Nah, I think you´ll do just as good."

  
Chris gave a small laugh at that but remained on his spot on the ground, which led to some kind of staring contest before Piers took another photo without warning of him, leaving Chris to blink the white spots on his vision away with a groan.   
"Get up, old man. Do it now."

  
Chris rolled around, in an attempt to shield his eyes from the continuing assault.

  
"I would if you´d let me!", he voiced out his complaints in a whisper and pushed himself to his feet the moment he felt like Piers had stopped. "Fucking thank you!"

  
His opposite just shrugged with a reassured grin and turned around, walking the way back to the trailer a second time. Like before, Chris´eyes knew were to look at even if he followed this time.

  
"The dogtags...!", Piers urged him once more as he sat down at the small wooden table they had after closing the door after them entering. Chris followed soon after. Even if he looked less than thrilled about Piers constantly nagging about that small little detail.

  
"What about them?"  
"You know exactly what I mean! Why are you still wearing them... again?"

  
Chris sighed and rested his head in both his hands, feeling the cold metal rest against his naked chest.

  
"Why wouldn't I?" The question lacked sense and Chris knew it, could even answer it himself.

  
"Maybe because that´s not who we are anymore! These people wanted us dead. Still do!"

  
"But it WAS who we were...!", Chris shouted back and lightly leaned towards Piers.

  
Chris was missing. Missing his job, missing the BSAA and making a difference in the world. No matter how they parted ways. Chris couldn´t hide his desire to continue what he did. The field work. And for Piers, it was just as bad! But... there was no going back anymore.

  
"Positive. But weren´t you the one who wanted to retire anyway? Dumping all that shit on me?! At the time you sure didn´t give half the shits you do now!"

  
"At the time I was barely coping with anything! I..." Chris didn´t find the words. He never was good with them. And if he was it was unintentional, coming out without a plan or structure. But not right now. He sank back into his seat, returning to his prior position of holding his head in his hands.

  
"I can understand...", Piers admitted with a little sigh moments after. "I mean... I miss them too, you know. The old times. But... they turned their backs so we had to do so too..."

  
Carefully, Chris looked up to meet understanding hazel eyes. A hand slid over the table to grab one of Chris´, pulling it away from his face. "I don´t mind you wearing them, I... just don´t want you to get reminded of it every two minutes..."

  
Their gaze connected and Chris raised their hands to his lips, planting a small kiss on Piers´ knuckles. "I know..."  
The gesture raised a little smile from Piers even though he shook his head slowly. As if to change the topic, Piers laid his head to the side to get Chris´ attention.

  
"You know... how about a shower? Sounds good, right? I mean... after all, I still feel all sticky in some places..." Chris´ big brown eyes met him disbelieving.

  
"You mean... I could come, too?" "Pretty much the same like in a public shower,... no?~"

  
No, it wasn´t. Anymore. They both knew it.

  
Chris´ lips pulled up into the same ridiculously flirty state like Piers´ were in right now.

  
"Sure..." Piers was the first to get up and make his way to the bathroom, just when he stopped in front of the door and looked back, did he see how Chris took his dogtags off, throwing them into a random corner in hope to not see them again a second time. "Alright, babe... Gonna clean you up so good..."

 

  
\-----------------------------

 

  
This feeling was like heaven and hell combined. Nothing he would ever be able to describe. But Chris´ mouth between his legs was, even though inexperienced and obviously doing this for the first time, nothing like he ever felt before.

  
"You don´t have to... You don´t have to...", he kept whispering under his breath like a mantra. The thought of Chris doing something he might not be comfortable with right now got the sniper worrying. But no matter how many times he let it out between pouty lips, Chris never stopped in his motion of sucking the younger one off.

  
Eventually, he stopped resisting and his head fell back, hitting the cold shower wall.

  
They didn´t even get far into the shower before Chris had pushed him against the wall and all of this started with some simple touches. But it had been obvious from the start that it wouldn´t stay like this. So Piers hadn´t been shocked when suddenly Chris had dropped to his knees in front of him, not that that had reduced his nervousness any bit.

  
They had made eye contact and even though Chris would have to do the work, he looked much more relaxed and content about it. Their eyes never broke apart when Chris had reached for his length, letting his finger gently run up and down to get him fully erected.

  
Piers had tried everything in his might to keep all these embarrassing little noises inside, especially when Chris had eventually leaned forward and kissed his tip, right before his lips had stretched over it.

  
And now, barely a few seconds later, his attempt at doing just that flew out the window when Piers released a loud, long moan. His piercing, hazel eyes were hidden by screwed shut eyelids as the, by now so familiar, hot blush took over his face.   
Chris, on his end, always looked up, watching these full lips panting in bliss. Once in a while the sniper´s fingers, that had latched onto the wall for support behind him, spazzed, causing Piers to stretch his whole hand wide before attempting to claw them into the tiles again.

  
Neither less to say, Chris was more than satisfied with how the first few moments of his first given blowjob went.

  
At first, he had been scared just as much, never before giving another dude´s cock so much attention. Or any at all. But before he could have thought about that twice, his body had already been down in front of that glorious erection. And he had just done what he was feeling was right.

  
What had been done to him before. Trying to remember what he had liked about getting blown, Chris began twisting his head in little half circles. Unfortunately, it had been some time ago that he had felt something like that himself.

  
But it seemed to have the desired effect, seeing that Piers gave another pleased moan.

  
"A-Ahh..."

  
Every time Chris withdrew or pushed himself forward, he dragged his tongue agonizingly slow over the underside and the sensitive vein of Piers. Damn, did the kid taste. Not bad or anything. Just kinda salty, foreign and unplaceable for someone like Chris.

  
"Chris..."

  
The sniper´s hands now shot downwards, coming to rest on either side of the older one´s head, holding him in place so he couldn´t pull away even if he wanted to but Chris didn´t think anything close to stopping his actions. He screwed his eyes shut in preparation as he tried to take Piers in as far as he could. Rough lips stretched over his partner and Chris tried his hardest to get his breathing under control. Too bad that was also the exact same moment he felt the hands of the sniper wander through dark hair to the back of his head, pressing him forcefully into his middle a second later.

  
Chris suppressed the urge to gag at the new sensation of a member hitting the back of his throat. His eyes went wide.

  
Piers bucked his hips once more. Damn, the kid was giving it up good for him... The younger one was already worked up to a high level and Chris just squeezed his eyes shut and tried to keep in place as Piers continued to shamelessly fuck his face.

  
Hopefully, this would get easier with practice. The slightly painful abuse of his mouth aside, this wasn´t half bad. Chris slowly tried to get used to this and looked up at Piers. He was madly blushing, panting, not able to make eye contact as his eyes set on something invisible on the ceiling.

  
"Ugh...!" Piers groaned out loud. Chris tested his limits as his right hand squeezed his balls, rolling them around in his hand like precious marbles.

  
The veteran could see the build up in these hazel orbs. He would be there soon.

  
Chris´ other free hand, that wasn´t occupied with massaging his balls, reached past them and went straight to his entrance Chris got to know so good yesterday night. Without a warning, like Piers had done with his bucking, Chris pushed one finger inside fast. Once again, Piers´ voice filled his ears with some truly beautiful sounds, even if some sounded slightly painful. Bet the boy was still sore...

  
Chris barely thrusted into the younger one once or twice, knowing how awfully close he was, before his thumb reached for the ring of muscles as well, pulling him wide open. If Chris was right, he had felt something there...

  
"Hhhn!" Piers´ hiss almost distracted Chris to the point where he didn´t notice. But he did. Slight white beads of liquid exited the sniper and Chris watched how they got washed away from the still luke warm water cascading and running down their bodies.

  
That was him. That had been him.

  
But before he could waste much more thoughts on it, Piers´ nails dug into his scalp just as his thrusts turned erratic, uncoordinated and very much out of rhythm.

  
"Chris...", he moaned. "I´m warning you...", was his statement, pressed out between gritted teeth and Chris understood he asked for permission. Or at least gave Chris a chance to react here. But Chris found himself not actually minding that much if he would cum in his mouth.

  
So the older one just gave Piers´ balls a gentle squeeze, gesturing for him to just go ahead and stop worrying. And Piers was more than happy to comply.

  
"Chris...!" He came very much in the same manner like yesterday. Loud, raspy and oh so wonderfully vocal. His hands had pressed against Chris´ head so firm that Chris couldn't resist and just had the option of trying to hold out and relax as much as possible when that dick was shoved down his throat, exploding in there into a hot dream of white, sticky fluids.

  
Even though Piers released him right after and worriedly eyed him, Chris couldn´t stop the coughs shaking his body as he doubled over and had to make the decision of either spitting it out or swallowing if he wanted to properly breathe again. He went with the latter and hastily tried to force it all down his throat which ended up sounding and looking rather miserable as he took a deep breath afterwards, panting and groaning in discomfort.

  
That last thrust had indeed been something...

  
"S-Sorry...", his lover whispered, feeling guilty as he cautiously kneeled down as well, trying to look Chris in the eye. "Are you alright...?"

  
"Yeah...", said one finally forced out after he got his breathing under control again. "You sure had a lot of spunk saved up... We might have to do something about that more often, now that we´re datin´..."

  
The word 'dating' sounded so good out of Chris´ mouth and it got Piers grinning, especially when a big hand reached out and slowly pushed his wet cowlick, sticking to his forehead back and out of his eyes.

  
Yeah... they might have to do just that... 


	25. Home

_4th State: Nebraska..._

 

  
The part of their way that they had to go through South Dakota was small and so barely two days later they crossed the border to Nebraska. Or so Piers thought that it had been two days... plus or minus another two. It was unbelievable how fast you lose track of time. He was a soldier so in his case, it was still somewhere in his inner clock but everyone else... probably would have no fucking idea which month it was anymore. Even if living with the Hanson´s had brought them back on track for the shortest time.

  
"I love ya~..." 

  
Neitherless to say, things with Chris were going great. Maybe a little too great. They barely covered ground compared to before. Which had... reasons.

  
Chris liked to be a distraction.

  
"...Love ya too...", the sniper breathed out with a slight blush as he tried real hard to concentrate on the street and not on the hand that rested on his knee, never stopping to either squeeze or rub over his skin there.

  
But everything about the landscape here grew so damn familiar. It pulled his attention to it, after some time barely registering Chris next to him.

  
It was still damn early and the wide, green fields, left and right of the road, passed by in a flash. Piers knew the area... And the more they progressed the worse it got...

  
Piers felt guilty. So damn guilty. He meant to tell Chris but eventually, he didn´t...

  
As if he had been here a million times before, he drove them both into a rather small city/village named 'Hyannis'. Not that enough but he held right in front of a run-down, small motel without needing any directions from anyone.   
They sat in silence for a moment in front of it as the engine died down, in the middle of an empty parking lot and Piers knew that Chris knew.

  
"You´ve been here before.", the older stated matter-of-factly and Piers nodded, guiltily, both of them continuing to just stare dead ahead.

  
"So you care to explain where and why we are here?"

  
Not really, Piers answered in his head but eventually heaved a troubled sigh. "It´s Nebraska. Nebraska looks all the same throughout the whole goddamn state..."

  
"...It´s your parents... they´re close."

  
Of course, Chris figured that out. It wasn´t much to it anyway.

  
So hesitating, he nodded before their eyes finally met. "I know we can´t meet them, so don´t think I´d actually be so stupid to drive us to their porch..."

  
"How far?" "...Just at the other side of town..."

  
Piers expected more of a reaction from him. Telling him to start the trailer again and keep driving. After all, they still had the whole day. But no... Instead, Chris exited the car now, making it look like he wanted to check out that motel. Piers was left alone with his thoughts for a moment.

  
They barely escaped the last time things went wrong. Barely escaped with their lives. And he still potentially ran them into trouble now. But Chris was so patient with him. Why? Maybe they really should get going...

  
But he was so close, like not in years, to home...

  
Finally, he followed Chris and locked the trailer.

  
"So... what can you tell me about this place?" Chris looked around. This town was pretty small and the streets looked like everything was so dead... They might really stick out.

  
"Small, old town. Nothing major going on around here. Mostly farming. A pain to grow up in." That summed it up pretty good.   
"Look...", Chris started again and it sounded so... desperate. "We can rest here for the day but... Piers, if I´m honest I wanna get away from here as soon as possible.."

  
The younger one nodded understandingly. "Copy that..."

 

  
\-------

 

  
They checked in, at a shabby, little reception, run by an old, unfriendly man. Piers didn´t know the guy so he wasn´t concerned about being recognized. They got a room, small and dirty like everything around here. The first thing they did was pushing the two beds together.

  
In the beginning, both of them had hated to sleep so close together, with too many movements and sounds to fall asleep. But by now it seemed they got too used to it, not being able to sleep without it anymore.

  
After they got over with everything, it was around noon and with that, time to eat something.

  
"Look, I know this place! There were so many nice places around here to eat when I was younger!"  
"Yeah, so they know you! The risk´s too high!"  
"I grew up, Chris. If you believe it or not, they won´t know me!"  
Chris just didn´t like this. At all. They were in the town Piers basically grew up in and now he wanted to lead him around. Someone was bound to-  
"Please, Chrissy..."

  
Damn him. Damn him and his pretty boy face. Everything.

  
Eventually, Chris shrugged, his resolve dying so fast like a tyrant with a rocket launcher in its face.  
Neither the less, they took precautions, which was fine with Piers if he was allowed to come at all. His wide hoodie and the shemagh it was again...

  
The sniper was fast to lead Chris out of the motel and down the main street that looked still pretty dead for the main street.  
"It´s been a quarter-hour, Piers. You sure we´re on the right way?"

  
"Sure!" His lover sounded more than joyful. "Around the corner should be a restaurant. Some old, greasy diner food would do us good!"   
God, that sounded like heaven right now. If it would be as good as it sounded, then Chris would never regret bringing the younger one.

  
And indeed, as soon as they passed the corner, they came across a small, shabby-looking restaurant pressed in between other buildings. Chris just raised an eyebrow, not really impressed.   
“Don't worry, it looks better from the inside!~”, Piers assured him right away and grabbed his large hand in his, dragging him inside.

  
And boy, was Piers right. The colors on the walls were warm and the tables and chairs looked like someone really cared. It was decorated with some pretty flowers and other random accessories. “What did I tell you, huh?”   
“Alright, alright, smart mouth.”

  
He hated to admit it but the other was right. However, it was remarkably empty even though that didn't seem to bother Piers. Then again, Hyannis was dead anyway so…

  
It gave them one little advantage though and that meant them being first in line.   
“Like I said, they have really great, home-cooked food but just for good old times sake, I'll get a smoked salmon salad sandwich. I… used to come here on my way to school and get some for the day.”

  
“Did your.. mom not make you some?”, Chris asked with biggest caution. But Piers just gave a shrug. “Was too busy, I guess…”  
That made Chris frown but before he could ask, a waiter already stepped behind the counter, regarding Piers with a small look at his… choice of exaggerated, warming clothing before already talking.

  
“What can I do for you?”

  
Piers smiled. “I'd like a simple salmon salad sandwich.~”, he said loud and clear so he could understand it even through the shemagh over his face. He noted it down uninterested before his eyes laid on Chris. “And for you?” “A... omelet with some toast and bacon, please…”   
With just another nod did he turn around, vanishing behind a corner into the kitchen.

  
“Alright then..” The older one awkwardly let out a breath. “It should be here soon. They always were pretty fast.”

  
_Cling_

  
The bell at the door behind them clicked and signalized another customer entering the building. Curiously, Chris turned around to see a woman in his age, wait, probably a little older, enter.

  
“Good day, Miss.”, he greeted her politely as always. A grin came over her lips instantly. “Why, to you too.~”   
It was in that moment Piers whirled around in panic.

  
The woman looked at him in surprise and Piers immediately pulled the hoodie deeper in his face, making it impossible to see his face before his hands reached out for Chris' arm.

  
“Chris… Richard, I mean. W-We need to go…!”

  
"What...? P-" Before he could say his name, Piers pulled once more hard on his sleeve. "I mean it, Richard. Let´s go...!" His voice sounded different too, like he tried really hard to change it. Not that it was so good.

  
Chris hesitated but he knew Piers long enough by now and how he behaved when something was really important. And for some reason, Piers really wanted to leave this place now. Possibly because of this woman...? Not the mention he used Richard...

  
"Alright..." Unsure what was even still right to say, he just stayed silent and waited until Piers took the next step and hurriedly dragged him out of the building again that they just went into. Chris could feel the stares of this woman on their backs.   
Once they were outside, Chris snorted a little angry. "Piers, what the hell?" But his partner just kept pushing him forward, never looking back. "Chris, we really need to keep moving. I can´t explain it right here. Just that... you were right..."

  
That you were right... Right with what? Being spotted? Was this woman someone Piers knew? Chris growled in frustration at it all but tried to gather his patience until they were back at the motel, in their room again. Still hungry...

  
"Who was that...?!" The older one knew by now that this woman was the only logical explanation the sniper wanted to leave so suddenly. His voice was risen in volume, like he was angry, like he knew this would happen. Because he did. And that Piers knew as well.

  
He heaved a sigh, letting himself fall down onto the bed. But he seemed to be ready to talk now.  
"My mother..." Seconds passed by without a word before Chris slowly brought a hand up to his face, covering it in desperation as he carefully sat down next to him. "..."

  
"I´m sorry, Chris... I should have never brought us here but... I couldn´ help it..."

  
His apology was sloppy and quiet and Piers didn´t count with it when Chris suddenly laid down as well, wrapping him tightly in his arms.

  
Hell, there was no place in the universe where he felt safer...   
It once again reminded him how there was no safe place in this world anymore. Even his hometown wasn´t. Just like Bearcreek.

  
Piers didn´t remember the last time he cried. Probably somewhere in quarantine. But right now the fatality of their situation finally hit him full force. After one month, just now did he understand what being on the run meant. And it felt horrible.   
He didn´t want to let it happen in front of Chris but after his eyes first just got a little wet, now little tears made their way down his cheek and he tried to hide it by pressing his face closer into Chris´ chest. He was sure Chris noticed it anyway, at least the moment his shirt would begin to get wet but his partner said nothing. Piers was grateful for it.

  
"There is no place... where they won´t find us, right...?" Eventually, it was Piers who couldn´t take the silence anymore, afraid his sobbing would turn louder and be heard.

  
As a response, the embrace around him got tighter and he expected Chris to say something positive and uplifting but it never came. Chris stayed silent, he didn´t have anything to say. And that meant a whole lot.

  
The day went by. Eventually, they ordered some pizza which Chris took at the door. The atmosphere was painfully melancholic as they ate their fast food in bed and watched some football on the small, beaten-up TV in their room. Piers kept muttering a thousand apologies which in return got Chris mumbling a thousand times how it was okay and he shouldn´t worry. Maybe having been so close to his mother but not being able to talk to her... had done this to Piers.

  
The night wasn't any better, Piers´ sleep was incredibly thin and loud, with hundred turns and tosses. Nothing that Chris could have done to calm him, he tried.

  
And even the next morning started slow.

  
"Hey..."

  
He had watched the sniper for several minutes after he had woken up, just staring up at the ceiling. How Chris had managed to catch some sleep last night after all was beyond him.   
Painfully slow, Piers ripped his gaze off the boring ceiling and looked him in the eye.

  
"Morning..."  
"How are you feeling?"  
"Like crap."

  
That was agonizingly honest... but nothing Chris didn´t expect. Hesitation got a hold of him for a second before Chris pushed it away and he scooted over to Piers, so close their unclothed bodies were touching. This time, when Piers looked up, his eyes had shifted their expression, somewhat hopeful and loving now.

  
"I know it´s hard... We´ll find a way..." That was more like Chris. It didn´t miss its purpose as a small smile formed on the other´s lips and he suddenly leaned over, pressing them on Chris´.

  
"I love you..."

  
It got better from there on out. Chris was even able to talk Piers into some fun before they packed their things and stacked them into the trailer once more, checking out of the motel.

  
Piers made sure to voice his concern once more about cigarettes when Chris stood outside the trailer in the parking lot and insisted on having a smoke before their departure. Small things, normal things. Made you almost feel like there was not much to worry about in life.

  
Even if Chris was more than just slightly against it, it was Piers who once again took the wheel. The argument that he knew this area was actually kinda invalid, seeing that they wanted to get away from here but Chris still let him.

  
"So, keep heading east, alright?"  
"Yes, Chris, I know..."

  
Piers knew the streets better than him so Chris had no safe way of saying where they were headed and if Piers was following the direction he had given him. There was no reason to mistrust him, really, but the older still had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

  
Not that it got any better when they headed down a small gravel path, between still green trees and Piers suddenly threw the gear into parking, stopping right in front of a driveway of a big, white house in the distance at the side of the road that was framed with more woods. It had an old looking, wooden fence in the front that passed on forever when you looked to the right and left. And somehow the way the trees parted behind the house made it look like there was still a lot of space behind it.

  
"Piers, where-...", Chris started but he couldn´t finish before Piers had just opened the door at the driver's side and jumped out of their trailer.

  
"Wait...!" Of course, it didn´t take long until Chris did the same, jogging around the trailer to find Piers leaning onto the wooden fence with his elbows, looking down this huge property with the lonely house.

  
"Piers...", Chris once more called out sternly and joined him but never did he once look at what was before them, his eyes always staying focused on Piers. He didn´t have to say anything. Chris knew where they were. And it was just as stupid as it was disappointing that Piers had just ignored his wishes.

  
"It didn´t change much, you know..."

  
"Piers, no...!" Chris knew or at least could imagine all these things in the sniper´s head and he knew they turned more dangerous every second.

  
"You´re not seriously thinking to walk in there and tell your parents you´re suddenly back, right...?" He still hoped Piers had some shred of remaining intuition. The younger one looked up like that had been exactly the thing going on in his mind. It got Chris slightly worried as he took another step closer to his partner.

  
"You are aware they still think you´re dead, right? For them... you died in China, serving your country. When you come back now, neither the less to say infected... you´ll get us both into deep shit..."  
"But Chris... these are my parents..." "And I know how important they were but your father..."

  
It was like a switch you flick over as Piers seemed to remember.

  
"You trust your mother and she seemed like she was a fine, nice lady but it still doesn´t change the fact that your family has a military history. If someone higher up wants you dead like they do... do you think they would hesitate to hand you out...?"  
Hazel eyes seemed to get more upset with every word the former captain said but knew they were right.

  
"This isn't just about you anymore. We´re both in this. If you don´t give two shits about your own safety that´s fine but you want me safe, right? Don´t you? That´s not how you´ll reach it. You just get us both killed with these stupid, childish tantrums you´re throwing, kid..."

  
Piers was sorry, he really was. But something inside him kept him from admitting it. It was the realization that all these actions could have gotten them into serious problems. He was not just risked his own life but also Chris´, first yesterday and now here.

  
Slowly, he nodded but his hanging head lifted surprised when he didn´t see Chris approaching and once more wrapping him in a hug. Hell, was it nice to know that he always had his back.   
Just as he wanted to settle into the embrace more lovingly, did the sound of barking pick up. Both of them rose their heads in confusion.

  
A black and white dog, probably Border Collie, could now be spotted into the distance running over to them. Unusually slow for a dog but it still seemed to be in a hurry.  
"...Charlie...?" Piers let go of Chris more willingly than ever before as he once again rushed over to the fence and leaned over it.

  
"My baby girl..." But said dog was old and slow so she took a couple of moments more before she reached them, barking quietly as if she was even too weak to do that properly. But Charlie was alive and that was something Piers didn´t think in the first place.

  
Eventually, she left the wide meadow behind her and came to sit in front of the wooden fence, probably exhausted from the little workout. And Chris saw it in the way, Piers kept leaning over the fence, almost making you think he´d jump over it any second, that his partner loved this dog. The sniper´s hands reached out and came to lie on her head, first carefully patting before giving her long strokes down her neck as far as Piers could reach.

  
Chris had tried to make Piers understand that they had to go, now. But it seemed like the effort was ruined in the span of a few seconds by that dog alone.

  
“Chris, look at her!”, he demanded now and Chris could barely suppress a sigh as he stepped closer and half-heartedly patted the dog´s head for a second. Neitherless, Charlie gave a happy hum at this.   
“Piers... please…” Looking up, Piers didn't seem to understand the fuss. “We need to go…!”

  
Once again did slender fingertips brush through short, black hair lovingly.  
“Don't worry so much. And don't rush me, Chris… No one should be home anyw-”

  
And it was in that moment that Chris felt his paranoia creep up again, the feeling of being watched, and his gaze rose to meet the white house again. His eyes searched for nothing in particular but still, they found their goal as they laid on the front door that stood wide open. Right in the doorway stood a person, he realized in horror and a second later came to identify her as the same woman they had encountered in the city. It was Piers´ mom.

  
"I think they´re home, alright...!", the older one muttered under his breath and his hand found Piers´ shoulder, this time not gentle and understanding but clawing into skin.

  
"We need to go..!"

  
Piers´ hazel eyes snapped up and they widened as he came to the same horrifying realization that Chris made a second ago.  
"Piers?!" She knew... She fucking knew. And until now she had probably thought he was still dead. There was such a big distance between them but she was a mom. And a mom would recognize her supposedly deceased child with a million miles between. Just not when he was wearing a hoodie and shemagh, apparently.

  
Once more, he felt Chris tugging at his shirt almost to the point where it gave the impression of ripping soon. "Move it, soldier...!", he growled dangerously low, probably afraid of him just running over to his mother, throwing all their plans out the window.

  
And Piers decided his inner fight for Chris over his family.

  
Whipping around, Piers gripped the keys tightly in his hand and made his way over to the trailer as fast as he could, hearing Chris doing the same right behind him. Even over the pathetic barking of Charlie or the shouting of his mother getting louder. She probably didn´t understand anything anymore...

  
They ripped the doors open and turned the ignition violently before the engine roared to life unhealthily loud. Piers slammed his foot down on the pedals and in the next second they were gone, leaving only an old dog and a lady behind, that stood at the fence and looked after them in silence.

  
"..."

 

  
\----------------------------

 

  
Half an hour later and at least three villages that they were speeding through, Chris still wasn´t talking to him. Piers always has had the impression he himself was the sulky one of the two and often that was right but this time he knew, he had seriously pissed off the other. It was obvious in the way he had his head turned out the window with that stern expression and his big arms crossed over his chest.

  
Piers had given up on trying to talk to him. You didn´t want to piss him even more off when he already was.  
They spend at least another thirty minutes in angry silence before Chris spoke up and Piers knew it was time to put up with some ugly words and curses.

  
"I´m so disappointed..." Okay, maybe that had hit home harder than an insult. Piers´ hand tensed around the steering wheel but he kept his eyes sternly on the road, waiting if he would continue. But he didn´t.

  
"I can understand if you are. Just like me."

  
Chris slowly turned his head, now at least looking at him again. "..."

  
"I know what you are about to say. How I didn't learn from the first time we saw her. About how I ignored your wish and got us into danger again. I get it, Chris. So I fucked up."

  
He heard a sigh come from his right.   
"You have a point as well, you know. I know you love your family, everyone does... Maybe I should have just taken the wheel from the beginning, then we wouldn´t have had that problem."

  
"Do you think... they will tell someone...?"

  
"Probably. I mean she thought you were dead so she will at least call someone to ask about it. And then they know we were here."

  
"...I´m sorry..." "...It´s alright..." And just like that, they stopped talking about it and Piers turned up the radio.


	26. Second Round

_2002_

  
_One foot in front of the other. Come on, slow and quiet, you got this._

  
_Piers mentally cheered at his job well done when he finally reached the end of the always squeaking stairs. But he had taken his time and avoided all of the loud and dangerous spots he knew so well. Now he just had to make his way over to his father´s office, take his little baby and escape through the back door._

  
_Carefully, Piers threw a glance down the hallway. Seemed like everything was clear._

  
_It was Saturday, anyway. No school and everyone was usually still asleep. Piers, however, had always been someone who was awake early. When he was still a really small kid, he would always get shit for waking everyone around 6 because he was bored and wanted to play. So he had learned pretty fast to entertain himself when everyone else was still soundly asleep._   
_His bare feet paddled quietly over the wooden floor. He passed the kitchen and out of curiosity, he threw a glance at the clock who hang over the table there. 6:50 a.m. Good enough._

  
_Another few meters down the hall and he stood in front of the dark door of his father´s office. He always stared at it in respect longer than he needed to. Like apologizing in advantage for dirtying holy ground. His hand found the handle and slowly pushed it down so it sprang open. He wasn´t sure if he was just imagining it but he always had the impression there was more resistance to this handle than to any other door in the house. Maybe because it was used so rarely..._

  
_Hesitantly, he stepped in, letting his gaze glide over all the shelves with badges and medals, trophies and diplomas. A single desk with a computer stood beneath a window at the wall. Yeah, his father had a computer, he knew all his siblings and he were proud of it and told it in school a lot, not that they ever were allowed to touch it..._

  
_A huge black leather seat was placed in front of it, the head rest facing towards the door and giving the impression it would turn around with a super villain at any moment like in all the movies. Piers was seriously creeped out by all this._   
_Not wanting to spend more time than necessary in this constant reminder of one parent missing, he went over to the table, randomly pulling the drawer open until he found what he had been looking for._

  
_The brown and black polaroid camera was old and you could see all these little marks and cracks on her but she was working and Piers didn't need much more than that._

  
_"Pierson!" A shudder went down his spine the very moment and he whirled around to be brought face to face with his older sister. A sigh of relief escaped him. Lucy and his mother sounded so alike sometimes... Especially if she was using this ridiculous version of a full name._

  
_"...Sup?", he managed and tried to squeeze past her but her figure was unforgiving and pushed him right back. "Is that Dad´s?!"_

  
_"...Yup." So why should he deny it if it was so obvious? She didn´t even ask why he was taking it. She never did. She barely gave a crap about his interests anyway. Not that Adam or Timothy_ _were much more interested than her or Mom._

  
_A sly smile crept up on her lips and Piers feared the consequences. "...He´s gonna kill you once he comes back from Washington...~"_

  
_"Don´t tell him, alright, Lucy?!" The wrath of his father was something so dark and so horrible. He had witnessed it a couple of times, he never made the same mistake twice._

  
_"What are ya offering instead?" He hated her. He hated her more than anyone else in this messed up house hold._   
_"...I can make your house chores...." She twitched her lips up in a smile after a second. "Sweet!" Piers suppressed a sigh and instead just bit his lower lip. Lucy was fucking 18 years old, she could do her shit alone but also happened to have a lot to do for college recently. Piers mused, if he would be a little older, she´d make him do that for her as well._

  
_"Alright, ´lil bro. Don´t forget to take Charlie if you´re leaving the damn house, she´s so up my ass...", the blonde complained and Piers squinted his eyes at her as soon as she turned around in her stupid version of a pink pajama. For her age and attitude, she sure as hell behaved more like a kid than Piers sometimes._

  
_Just as if she had heard them talking about her, a border collie now pushed past Lucy, which drew an irritated grunt from her, before coming to sit in front of Piers, patiently and wagging her tail._

  
_Piers looked up once more but already saw his sister making her way tiredly over to the stairs again so he took it she allowed him to go now._

  
_Without wasting much more time in this crazy house, Piers jogged over to the back door, pushing it open before sitting down on the porch and putting on his shoes. All the while Charlie never left his side, keeping calm and just observing._   
_He had no idea why she just made such a fuss whenever she was with the other family members, it was like she was always nervous, never sitting still when Piers wasn´t around. She didn´t like Lucy especially._

  
_Charlie was a young dog, three years at max. They got her from a friend of his dad, maybe one and a half years ago. Piers had always asked more, wanted to know more but soon found out that his father barely cared and also didn´t want to go through the effort of asking questions._

  
_Yeah, his father was a careless bastard when he was home. More often than not Piers found himself being grateful that he wasn´t, most of the time._

  
_Grabbing the camera tightly, he got up and looked over to Charlie who sprang to her feet instantly, giving a happy bark._  
 _Both of them began walking over the yard that had over the years escalated to something similar to a farm. They had_ _the space and his mom loved animals so it got more and more over the time. And whenever his father would come home again, he would just raise an eyebrow and say he didn´t care as long as they could still afford it._

  
_Piers picked up his pace a little as he passed the paddock. Two of their three horses seemed to be outside, Cosmo and Bernie, just Black Jack was missing. Then again, that horse was something else entirely, so he was probably inside._

  
_He followed the small gravel path through the fences and other small sheds with chickens and goats with sheep before finally reaching the fence that separated their property from the woods. Effortlessly, he jumped over while Charlie squeezed herself through the bars._

  
_It was summer so the temperature was already kinda comfy with just the right amount of light from the sun to make the dew of the night glistening on the leaves._

  
_He made his way a little further down through the thick bushes and tall trees until he came to the brink of a wide meadow and he stopped. Charlie, next to him did the same and, already knowing what would come next, laid down patiently. Piers let himself fall to his belly next to her, pulling some branches into position to cover them. He had learned fast how to do the right way so you weren´t spotted. Learned how to find out the direction of the wind and how you had to stand in it so they wouldn´t smell. How to slow his breathing so they wouldn´t hear. One of these days, he had the ridiculous thought, if his father really got his will and he´d join the military, maybe the job of a sniper wouldn´t be too lost on him._

  
_He picked up how next to him, Charlie changed her behavior, not much. Not so that they would get spotted, no. It came in nervous blinking, in licking her own snout. Things like this. And Piers knew she spotted them already._   
_Moving carefully, slow and cautious, Piers brought the camera in front of his face, patiently waiting for them._   
_They made their appearance soon after which relieved Piers. Sometimes he´d lay here for hours just to go home empty handed afterwards._

  
_But red and brown fur breached through the green bushes of the other side and slowly, almost giving the impression of being scared, a total of four foxes slowly set paws onto the meadow, moving closer._

  
_It was a mother with three cubs. Piers knew them. He had taken pictures of them for the past two months. But the small ones soon weren´t so small anymore and any other time he saw them, he had more and more troubles telling them apart from her mother. This time he finally had to give up on it._

  
_They came here often and Piers was thankful he had just seen them one morning even if he had no idea what kept them coming back here once in a while. But he never complained and he´d certainly not start now, he thought, as he silently started to take his pictures._

  
_Charlie next to him was completely relaxed, she was familiar with this game. And she never had been hostile to any other animal anyway. So Piers never was afraid to bring her._

  
_Just today she seemed to have suddenly something stuck in her nose as she gave a loud but terrible adorable sneeze that got Piers looking up from his camera. His lips twitched into a smile but it died the moment he looked back onto the meadow to find it completely empty._

 

  
\--------------------------

 

  
It had long become completely dark outside and Piers heaved a quiet sigh as to not wake Chris who had actually managed to fall asleep on the passenger's seat after an entire day of driving.  
They had covered some ground and left the bigger cities behind. However, Piers had hoped to find at least some kind of village before the night would hit them but that obviously hadn´t worked out.

  
Right now they were driving on a muddy path through an extremely thick forest and even with the headlights Piers still had problems seeing things that were more than ten feets away. So now he sat here, kept repeating in his head that he´d stop and park between the trees if they won´t find civilization in the next ten minutes.

  
Driving was dangerous like this and he felt his eyes getting heavier by the second.

  
Just.

  
Getting.

  
So.

  
Heav-

  
"Piers!"

  
His eyes snapped back up and found the road instantly but he knew it was too late to go for the brake, the moment he could already see the brown color of the deer´s eyes before it impacted with their front a second later with a loud crash.   
A strong thrust went through the trailer, Piers felt how his seat belt cut into his chest from the motion and he eventually still found the right pedal, making them come to a stop with screeching tires.

  
Both of them just sat there for the longest moment, panting heavily in shock with wide eyes. Slowly, almost as if he didn´t know what he was even still doing on this planet anymore, Piers turned his head and looked at Chris. Said one´s breath came out ragged, his expression horrified with his fingers clawing deep down on both sides of his seat.

  
He himself probably didn´t look any better. He couldn´t bring himself to look right now but he had the feeling he ripped out part of the leather sheeting on the steering wheel. He just needed to see Chris´ face right now. It was calming. Another few seconds passed and just as slowly, Chris brought his eyes to meet Piers´.

  
"Are you alright?"

  
Piers just managed a short nod. Physically he was fine, yeah.

  
Chris gave a nod right back at him, seemingly collecting himself rather fast. Then again, he had been in worse situations. His hand reached out, coming to touch Piers´ right arm on the steering wheel. He felt him shaking like crazy, his hazel eyes now looking ahead again and watching the small, almost invisible clouds of smoke emerging from their front.

  
"...I´m gonna take a look."

  
With that, Chris was already out into the dark and Piers slowly peeled his hands off the steering wheel, every finger one by one before looking out the window but it was so dark he barely could make out figures. The deer had fucked over their headlights...

  
Everything seemed suddenly so threatening in his vulnerable state of mind and he felt slightly paranoid being alone in the trailer.

  
Instantly, he took a deep breath to calm himself and pushed open his door. Once outside, he was fast to hurry up towards the front as he saw Chris standing there, hands on his hips and slightly clueless.

  
"Well, the deer never stood a chance but... looks like, apart from the lights, it´s just a huge bump."

  
Piers took a step closer, still finding his legs kinda wobbly. When he came to stand next to Chris, he let out a sigh. It kinda reminded him of the fish. This was equally disgusting... just with more blood, he thought, as he observed the bloody mess this deer had become on their hood. It was still recognizable as just that but its head was hanging from its body at a weird angle, indicating that it was definitely dead. If the open, unforgiving eyes and hanging tongue weren´t enough proof already.

  
"Well..." Both of them looked at each other, not knowing what to do before Chris ran a hand through his hair and already approached the dead animal. Grabbing it by the legs, he made fast work and swiftly pulled it down from their hood, making it leave behind a blood trail that collected like a pool into the bump, before it collided with a thud to the ground and he let go.   
Piers averted his eyes for a moment at the sight but looked again when he heard the trouble Chris had with opening the hood. Understandable, the bump was pretty much in the front and kinda was right over the rim. The metal must have been jammed somehow.

  
But a moment later, he already shrugged it off when Chris was able to pry it open with brutal force, throwing a look at the engine.

  
"...Nah, I think we´re fine to go. Just the lights, like I said."

  
Piers nodded shortly, relieved that at least something was going their way.  
"So... we´re just gonna drive this thing off the road and stay here now?"

  
"We´d have to. Can´t see shit, otherwise. Which also means we either get it fixed or... just continue traveling by day now."  
But they both knew there wasn´t any money they could get it fixed from. Their eyes met and Chris shrugged as he let down the hood again and dusted his hands off on his pants. "Thought so...."

  
Piers was about to heave another sigh but the sound never left his mouth when he got distracted by a sound coming from behind them, a low growl. His head whipped over to Chris just like said ones to him, making their eyes meet as they both frowned.

  
The sound stopped and Piers already thought he might go crazy, but a second later it was there again, closer.   
He could see Chris mouth something thanks to them standing so close in the dark, thankfully he understood Chris without words even. His lips were still easy to read so Piers could tell he was counting down from five.

  
When he reached one, they both turned around fast, their eyes jumping around but seeing nothing. The growling still came closer so at least they could pinpoint the direction it came from, just to identify a silhouette breaking through the bushes a moment later.

  
It took a step closer and Piers gasped in realization what kind of animal was barely two meters in front of them now. It was a bear.

  
A black bear specifically, explaining why it´s black fur was so hard to be spotted against the light. The only thing that helped to make it out a little bit was the light of the moon that barely fell through the trees. He had thought Nebraska didn't have bears but it wouldn´t be the first time that he heard from sightings of black bears that came over the mountains of Wyoming.   
Usually these bears were pretty friendly but it was around the beginning of November and usually, they would hibernate already. Maybe it got too less to eat this year to sleep already. Which would mean it was pretty fucking desperate to... feed.

And they were standing right between him and a dead, bleeding deer.

  
It was probably male from its size which added another few aggression points on its chart.

  
"Chris...", Piers whispered over but his partner never answered. "Let´s slowly head for the trailer..."  
As if it heard what he had said, it stood on its hind legs for a moment, growling loudly before it let itself fall to all fours again and it started slowly heading towards them.

  
"Chris!", he shouted this time and already sprinted a few steps in the expectation that Chris would follow him but when he threw a glance over his back, he still stood there, the bear now clearly heading for him.

  
What should he do...? Chris obviously just missed his escape route since the bear now moved between them, in a half circle around Chris, totally focused on the taller man.

  
He had to do something! Anything...

  
Deep inside a voice seemed to start talking to him, mocking him.

  
Anything but that...

  
_'Don´t you wanna save him...?'_

  
That was everything he wanted.

  
_'Then use what you were gifted with...'_

But it wasn´t a gift...!

  
Chris had now started to slowly walk backwards, hoping to still make it to the passenger´s door somehow. He had hoped the bear would let up on him the moment he passed the deer but it seemed to have little interest in the deceased animal.   
Instead, it made up its mind and charged at him with an angry cry.

  
"Piers!"

  
The blue lightning came as fast as it was gone in the next moment, lighting up everything for one, two seconds before the dark wrapped itself around them again.

  
The bear laid on the ground, not daring to move but breathing and grunting. It wasn´t dead but out cold. Even though the little flashes of blue electricity dancing over its fur made it obvious that this had been a strong load.

  
Chris´ eyes lifted from the predator and came to lie on Piers, standing there a few meters away, panting heavily while he lowered his right arm again. His scars were glowing blue like he remembered them doing in South Dakota.

  
"Piers...", he let out relieved.

  
"Ah, nice to be back. I believe we got interrupted rudely last time."


	27. Both Sides Of The Gun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this short chapter being a little short but unfortunately it just ended up that way for dramatical effect x'D

The spit got stuck in Chris´ throat at the change of tone in Piers´ voice. Not again...

  
"You´re so quiet suddenly. Shouldn´t you be thanking me? Did I not save your life just now?"

  
The older one bit his lower lip as he took one step back. This wasn´t Piers. And he still had no fucking idea what to do, just like last time. There had to be a way of breaking him out of this, without hurting him.

  
Piers, or C, snorted and in return came a step closer, keeping the amount of distance between them exactly like before. "I wouldn´t want you to run from me..."

  
"You´re planning to end me anyways, don´t you?"

  
The bear between them gave a grunt and groggily lifted his head now, looking around before it pushed itself up shakily. Piers was standing right before it now and, as it slowly turned its head, kicked it hard in the ribs, making it roll awkwardly to the side.

  
When it came to a stop, it jumped up with a loud roar but the moment it saw the angry sparks dancing over Piers´ right hand, not the mention his glowing scars and eye, seemed to think better of it and turned around, running back into the woods.  
When it left their line of view, Piers turned his head towards Chris again with a grin.

  
"Sure, I do. That doesn´t mean I can´t have fun."

  
"Piers, please get it together. That´s not you."

  
"Of course this is not him." That was the last bit of a warning the other gave him before he began dashing towards him and Chris turned on his heels, sprinting down the last bit of distance to the passenger´s door, ripping it open. He barely set both his feet into the inside of the trailer before Piers´ weight crashed into him from behind and not the good kind. He felt Piers´ hands going for his wrists, securing them behind his back. He was stronger. A lot stronger than Chris ever remembered him.

Then again, he had to keep reminding himself, this wasn´t Piers.

  
They both stumbled awkwardly forward until Piers pressed him against their kitchen counter, forcing him to double over.

  
"I can´t believe this is going so great. Either you´re really holding yourself back or you´re just getting old after all!"

  
Chris was going through his options. Not that he had many. Piers was overpowering him physically, not that he ever thought he´d say that. The only means of defending himself that he had was... Jake´s gun that he hid somewhere beneath the couch. First, he would never have enough time to reach it without getting fried, secondly, more important than the other thing... he wasn´t sure if he could even use it even if it would save his own life. Not if it was Piers.

  
The other had by now placed his right hand on his back, holding both his wrists with just his left hand and in unregular intervals shocked him ever so slightly. It wasn´t much but it was enough to make it hard to think and not hiss out in pain.   
Piers was enjoying all of this way too much as he just hummed under his breath.

  
The charges got stronger ever so lightly but Chris had no doubt that that might be just how he wanted to kill him, slowly. He had to fucking act, now.

  
Finally bringing himself to move his muscles, that spazzed here and there cause of the electricity, Chris came up with one of the most common ways of getting someone off yourself, aiming a kick towards their crotch.

  
Chris apologized mentally over and over to Piers as he brought his left leg up, kicking back but the pressure that was there behind him was suddenly gone, just like the grip on his wrists. Piers had retreated backwards.

  
Without missing a beat, Chris whirled around and his eyes met Piers´ right there, maybe two meters away from him.

  
The shocks had stopped but the pain was still there. Chris wasn´t sure if he´d ever get used to the thought of electricity or thunder again. That would probably turn out to be his new phobia. Not the most comfortable one to have while living with Piers Nivans.

  
"You should just go die, you´ll save us both some trouble..."

  
The sparks around him picked up and Chris could feel the static crack in the air around the other. He needed to get him out of this state, however that should work.

  
"Sorry but I still have a mission to finish. I can´t just kick the bucket while you still need someone to look out after you..." He laid all the sincerity he had into these words and he hoped it would get through to him but said one scoffed.

  
"I´m looking after him now, gramps. Isn´t this enough?!", he roared angrily and aimed his arm at him this time. Chris managed to dodge but judging from the sounds, their kitchen had taken some damage. Not that Chris even bothered to look as he made a run for the couch, now finally making up his mind to at least arm himself. However, he still didn´t plan on using it as he came to a stop in front of it, half stumbling, half sprinting before he threw himself down onto the floor next to it, his hand reaching deep beneath and pulling free the 909.

  
Immediately, he rolled onto his back and aimed, just to find Piers already standing right to his feet. In a familiar and swift movement, Chris released the safety lock in the split of a second.

  
"Don´t make me do this, Piers..."

  
"Make you do what... Chris...?"

  
The sniper´s eyes were wide, almost filled with fear and his whole expression let you understand that he had no idea what was going on right now. For the split of a second Chris thought that he was back. He was about to lower his gun but hesitated.

  
His scars and his right eye were still glowing in this wonderful but dangerous tone of blue, indicating that he yet didn´t have control. So what do you believe?

  
"Chris... lower that gun for me, would you...? You're pointing it right in my face... You´re scaring me." Even his voice was completely normal again. Chris saw his own hand shaking but kept it right where it was. "..."

  
"Chris, please...", he kept going and Chris was so close to giving in until the next sentence left Piers´ mouth. "Lower it. Now!" More than the actual words, it was once more how he said it and Chris tightened his grip on the handgun.

  
"How about you make the electricity go away first. If you´re in your right mind, you surely know how to..."

  
A chuckle left the other´s lips and he came to rest a hand on his forehead as if he was amused by all this. "Of course I do, my dear... but this would be contra productive. After all... I´m trying real hard to kill you here!"

  
His voice, that started out really nice, shouted at the end of the sentence with its previous roughness before he dropped down on Chris, both of his hands finding the other´s wrist once again, still with the gun inside that he yanked out of his scarred and glowing face to the ceiling. Just in the right moment before a shot freed itself in the scramble and disappeared right into the ceiling.

  
Chris never wanted that to happen and his eyes went wide at the thought of how narrowly that had missed the other´s head. But Piers didn´t seem to be fazed by it in the slightest and still tried to take it from him, hands flying through the air and feet desperately kicking.

  
"Please... I know you´re in there... Piers!"

  
This would end badly, Chris feared and aimed a strong kick towards the other´s gut that even connected this time. Piers hissed loud and, in response, let go a strong charge of bioelectricity that got Chris screaming out in pain. It was hard to not lose consciousness as Chris felt his eyelids getting heavier.

  
Piers tugged at the gun but with the last remaining strength, Chris tightened his grip, pulling right back.

 

A second shot rang out.

.

.

.


	28. Dangerous Game 2

Unlike before, this time it hit. Just not Piers.

  
Chris screamed out loud and his tired eyes flew open again at the pain that exploded in his shoulder. He had taken the bullet.   
His eyes frantically came up to meet Piers, half in fear of what was to come, half in relief as he felt the other´s grip on the gun loose.

  
Just hazel.

  
Like he had seen it once before, the blue glow and the sparks subsided before they disappeared completely. Before anything else could still happen, Chris mustered some strength and yanked the gun from Piers, kicking the safety lock in and letting it fall to his side, the small thing giving a clicking noise as it hit the floor.

  
Exhausted, he turned his face towards Piers again. Big, shocked eyes meant it serious this time. "Oh my god...", came over full lips as a silent whisper.

  
Rather thinking it was more important to check on himself than comforting Piers right now, Chris brought his right hand to his left shoulder, pressing down on the wound through the fabric and giving a loud hiss. Hell, this wasn´t the first bullet Chris ever took but goddamn, he liked to avoid it if he could.

  
The fabric and his hand drenched red soon. Chris could tell from the fact that he could still move everything, even if it was pretty fucking painful, that it probably wasn´t as bad as it looked. But it was still a damn bullet...!

  
They would have to consult a doctor. And that would raise questions.

  
"Chris... I´m so sorry...!"

  
Slowly, Chris was able to bring the hand from his injured shoulder up to lie on Piers' cheek. He was too out of it to care for the fact that he left a red stain on his face.

  
“You're here now, aren’t you…?” His voice sounded weak and shook slightly. It wasn't making it any better how Chris once more felt his eyes getting heavier.

  
“Of course I'm here! Oh god, I didn´t mean for that to happen...! I-I couldn´t..."

  
"I know...", Chris just interrupted him. They could talk about this all day long later if they wanted. Just not now. "The first aid kit... it´s in one of the kitchen counters, remember...? Get it for me."

  
"Y-Yes...!" Piers jumped to his feet as fast as he could and sprinted over to the kitchen counters that altogether looked really battered since just now. Remembering which one Chris referred to, Piers found the little box fast and was down on his knees on Chris´ side in the next moment once more.

  
He snapped open the buckles and was greeted with the sight of countless medical supplies. His eyes jumped over to Chris for a second but said one looked like he barely knew how to keep his eyes open.

  
So Piers had to rely on his own combat-related rescue abilities that he got taught in the military. Without wasting more precious time, he started unbuttoning Chris´ shirt and pulled it open carefully. The wound was obviously there and bleeding. His training for treating bullet wounds told him he needed to flip Chris over or at least roll to the side to check if the bullet made it through.

  
That could have some advantages but not necessarily. If the bullet made it through, he wouldn´t have to worry to get it out but also it was common that you leave bullets in the victim as well if it didn´t hit anything vital. Since a bullet is sterile when it leaves the gun that wouldn´t cause many problems. On the other hand, if it left Chris´ body, then he had to take care of two wounds as an exit wound can be rather large s well.

  
"Okay, I´m gonna move you a little." It was important to keep talking as it might help him to stay awake and it could help avoid a state of shock if you reassured the person.

  
Neither less to say, moving Chris was suddenly a lot harder than with the virus, in addition to that Chris had gone limp in his arms, still being awake, Piers checked, but just not helping whatsoever. At least he stayed on his side when Piers positioned him like that.

  
In the first moment, Piers couldn´t see anything laying on the ground but when he looked at Chris´ back, the fabric was red there as well. Piers continued with helping Chris out of his shirt and finally found the bullet as it fell out of the exit wound onto his shirt. So there it was. Placing it somewhere on the side, Piers had now to deal with two wounds.

  
Fumbling through the kit, Piers found a compress and placed it on the wound on his back before rolling him face up again. A second one was applied there as well. The most important thing was pressure. It was key to stop the bleeding.   
So Piers placed both heels of his palms on the piece of fabric and tightly pressed against it with his body weight.

  
"You gotta tell me when you get problems with breathing, you hear me...?"

  
"I hear ya..."

  
Piers frantically searched in his head for something that could keep Chris mentally occupied as his blinks got longer and his eyelids barely were raising anymore.

  
"Hey... did Claire ever get you into trouble while growing up?" It was a random question, maybe, but it was the only thing he could come up with and it reminded him of his own childhood. It seemed to work as Chris slowly blinked 'awake' again.   
"You wouldn´t believe how often..."

  
"Tell me about it...!" His hands were still firmly placed on his wound and if Piers wasn´t mistaken, then the red spot had stopped to expand, at least not as fast anymore. It seemed to work.

  
"...One day she brought home a stray cat when she was around eight years old. We hid it in the basement but one day, when we both went to school, we had forgotten to properly close the door and it came out. Apparently, it needed to make up for lacking opportunity to exercise, there in the small room and ruined everything. Literally. The curtains, the couch, knocked over countless things... I´ve never seen my parents so angry."

  
A small chuckle escaped Chris and Piers was relieved that it seemed to distract Chris but in the next second, he started coughing heavily and Piers reduced the pressure on his shoulder. There was no blood in his coughs though so it couldn´t have hit his lungs. Not that Piers had been worried about that with a wound on the shoulder.

  
"Damn, I see... Did you keep the cat?", Piers kept going to which Chris just shook his head.

  
"No... they hated it too much for that after what she did."

  
It became calmer after that again besides Chris complaining here and there to Piers that he was pressing too much and it was hard breathing.

  
Eventually, Piers let go of his wound anyway and a few moments passed in which he just watched Chris and the blood covered compress on his naked chest.

  
"...We should call 911...", he finally let out even though he could think of Chris´ response already.   
"And get us tracked down?!" "Maybe they... won´t know..." Piers knew how desperate that sounded and also stupid but...  
"They will ask questions why I got shot, okay? And by now I´m pretty sure the entire US has our names on their lists. And they will want to know our names."

  
The guild came faster than Piers would have liked after the first shock was over and the bleeding had stopped at least. "I´m sorry... I really am, Chris..."

  
But said one didn´t give him time to break down and just once again placed a hand on his cheek. "I know you are, okay? Just... keep digging around the first aid kit. There must be something in there." They both knew they couldn´t go to a hospital with this, so logically it was their only chance to find something to treat it for now and just hope it wouldn´t get infected while healing.

  
With a weak nod, Piers once again turned to the kit and looked through it with shaking fingers. Suddenly, his fingers wrapped around a green spray can and he pulled it free between all the other things. The moment he fully laid eyes on the familiar item, it felt like a massive pressure got lifted off him. "That´s... that´s a first aid spray. What´s that doing here?" It was uncommon to find one just laying around, at least in a non-war zone where there weren´t any other soldiers how could have left it behind.

  
"Right. I remember... having one in my uniform when we left the base. I put it into there for emergencies..." Piers was about to ask why he just remembered now but knew that in shock that could happen.

  
"Well, I guess this is an emergency..."

  
Not even waiting for a response from Chris, Piers gave the can a few good shakes before holding it close to the wound, spraying every spot of it in a thick layer. He once again rolled Chris to the side with little protests of said one before covering the bleeding mess there as well.

  
The older one gave a relaxed sigh when his back hit the floor again and Piers knew how good he must have felt now. First aid sprays cooled down the wound while reacting with the skin, making it heal quite a bit faster. The infection risk was down to almost zero as well.

  
He didn´t know what he´d done without it.

  
Just now did the sniper allow himself to let out the air he´d been holding and fall a little into himself.   
This was his fault. His fault that Chris got shot.

  
The virus had once more taken control because he had let it. He let it come to the surface. Sure, the situation was dangerous and he had to do something but...

  
This had taken it too far.

  
He couldn´t believe how much of a threat he had become. Just like the BSAA had feared. They were right. Suddenly, Piers wasn´t so sure anymore if running had been the right thing. If letting Chris be exposed to that kind of threat hadn´t been selfish.

  
He had saved him back in the underwater facility. Just so the monster inside had almost killed him just now. How stupid had he been, to think that they could just continue playing this game of hide and seek...?

  
"Hey..." Just like before, a warm hand rested on his cheek, causing him to look down. Chris was smiling. As good as the situation allowed it. "I love you, you know that, right?"

  
It got Piers´ dark thoughts to stop dead in their tracks.

  
There was an answer to why he had done it. To why Chris had agreed to this trip and all that it brought, why he was still here. They both had tried to make it work, were still trying. And, if he thought about all the other moments when C was nowhere to be found in his consciousness, then that was the reason.

  
They both wanted something new. A life, together. And if they couldn´t get it where they had been, then they would keep walking on until they did. With or without a virus in his system that wanted the other dead. He´d have to learn to control it. There had to be a way. And once he had found it...

  
"We´ll stick together in this. Times... are a little hard on us lately. But I´m sure they´re just temporary. We´ll figure things out, together. We´ll make it work, together. And we´ll find us a nice place, finally, in which we are welcome,... together." With that, he pulled his face down towards himself, locking their lips in a sweet kiss that succeeded into calming Piers down.

  
Chris was right. Eventually, they´d be fine. They´d had to.

  
Minutes passed by like that and somewhere along the line, they broke apart. Chris raised an eyebrow while looking up at Piers as if asking with his eyes if he was okay. And Piers nodded weakly, no words needed for him to understand.

  
Slowly, as carefully as he could, Piers helped Chris to get up from the ground which said one managed with a lot of grunting but in the end, the first aid spray already seemed to have helped a great deal as the older one stood tall on his own two feet a second later.

  
Not that Piers allowed him to stand for long before he got the couch ready for him and pushed him onto there, once again more than careful.

  
"Piers... I got shot in the shoulder, not in the chest or abdomen. I´ll be fine, I´m not made of glass...", he tried to reassure him, maybe even take some guilt of the sniper but Piers had none of it and insisted to take care of everything for the rest of the night, such as parking the trailer off the road and even bringing Chris something to eat, which he insisted Chris did before trying to sleep a bit.

  
Not that that was really easy when the time came and Piers turned off the light. That night had truly been a nightmare.

 

  
\------------------

 

  
The next morning wasn´t much better if he was being honest. He couldn´t have slept much more than three hours with the pain that kept him awake.

  
However, at least he felt a little better the moment Piers seemed to have woken up and turned towards him with big, hazel eyes. The worry in them was ever present though.

   
"Hey..." It was careful. It was guilty.

  
It was the worst kind of emotion he could imagine in Piers´ voice.

  
"Morning, babe.~" As if to will it out of his head, Chris hastily leaned over, making their lips meet for the first time of the new day. And that was so precious to him, it overshadowed the pain that surged through his shoulder from the motion.   
And even Piers seemed to smile into the kiss before they separated again soon after.

  
"How are you feeling...?"

  
"Quite good.~", Chris lied with a small smirk and let himself fall back again with a grunt. He put one hand behind his head, the one he could actually move without pain and looked up at the ceiling.

  
The faint light of the morning fell through the blinds in front of their windows and he could hear some birds outside. If he thought about it, it was such a nice calm morning... if just the bullet wound in his shoulder wouldn´t be. And just as he thought this morning couldn´t be any prettier, Piers was the one to come cuddle closer this time, pressing himself tightly to his side with a relaxed sigh. Which in return got Chris to relax some more as well.

  
"You know...", Piers spoke up after a little while of just laying together in relaxed silence, his breath hitting Chris´ exposed skin. The sniper had advised him last night to sleep without a shirt so the compresses would hopefully hold, he had explained while wrapping some bandages over this shit. "... I wish there was a way to reverse time... or at least just make you feel better and less in pain because of me fucking up..."

  
Chris shifted the arm behind his head and put it around Piers instead, pulling him even closer. A thought went through his brain and it might have been inappropriate but he was just a man himself. Not the mention, he had an affinity for morning sex. Leaning close to his lovers´ ear, Chris let out a low chuckle.

  
"I know one or two things you could do...", he breathed out. "...to make me feel better and less in pain..."  
Piers´ eyes snapped open and found Chris´ in a heartbeat. A second later, a smug expression crept on the younger one´s face. The boy was just always ready...

  
"I´m not fully certain... but I think we think of the same thing...~" And before Chris progressed anything, Piers was on top of him, grinning into his face as he pressed their foreheads together lovingly.

  
Chris began smiling like a happy teenager, the pain already almost totally forgotten. Whenever he was with Piers...   
"I love you...", was whispered against his lips right before they met the sniper´s.

  
The kiss started out way too innocent and Chris saw it coming before it headed there. Heated, passionate and wet. A second later he got just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this one, I actually had to look up how to behave when someone has a bullet wound and what to do to help. It´s still pretty poor research I did on it but it all seems logical. The only thing I really wanted to avoid was them blowing their cover so they had to get out of this themselves and why not using some game lore in the form of a good, old first aid spray...? 
> 
> My best friend later told me that some mafia members just consult a vet since it´s pretty much the same principle but vets are easier to bribe to stay silent... well, that came a little late though


	29. Settling

  
The sounds he let loose through open-hanging lips got worse and picked up in volume with every time Piers removed more fabric, uncovered more skin. "God..."

  
Chris dropped his gaze with a pant before closing his eyes altogether. This was intense. The feeling of Piers´ fingers on his skin could have been so good...

  
His chest heaved and dropped at an abnormally fast rate and Chris tried to force himself to calm down more than anything...  
"Stop squirming so much! I know it hurts, alright? But you´re just making this harder on yourself than it already is...!"  
"B-But Piers...! I-..."

  
Without mercy, Piers continued what he was doing and Chris suppressed a gasp.

  
"God, Chris... I´m just changing your bandages, okay? I wonder how anyone ever dealt with you in a hospital if this is already bad for you..."

  
The last bit of the cloth fell off his chest and Chris still felt the ripping feeling where it had still clung to his wound a second before. Piers could have been more loving with that.

  
But said one barely wasted one second with throwing the blood-stained material to the side before a hand reached out and carefully observed the wound from yesterday. There was still dried blood clinging to it and it made it hard to see much so Piers got some water and some handkerchiefs before coming back to the table and beginning to clean it. Chris had learned his lesson and tried to stay still as good as he could.

  
After a while, Piers spoke up with a hum. "So... at least it´s not open anymore, the rim is closed. Probably on the other side as well. Now we just gotta hope it heals real quick inside."

  
God bless those aid-sprays.

  
Luckily he didn´t use all of it yesterday night, so the sniper thought of it as good to spray it real good once again which, this time, emptied the bottle. With another dose of it though, they should be fine. If not, this morning Piers had even found, in the deepest corner of their first aid kit, an Arklay herb. It was green so the effect was minimal but it was just a reserve. Piers was always amazed, thinking about how this plant started growing in the area where all the horror began but then got commercialized and saved a lot of people of exactly that horror these days.

  
So Piers dug his fingers into the kit once again to fumble for some more bandages and tightly applied them to the prior position.

  
"You think it´s good?", he heard from above and his eyes jumped up to meet brown.  
"Yeah... I think we´re good...", he smiled automatically and sealed their lips with a kiss.

  
Half an hour later, Piers´ head carefully peeked out their trailer door, looking around as if being scared to run into a bear again. Upon seeing and hearing nothing, apart from the occasional chirping, he stepped out. Chris followed him much faster and braver.

  
The first thing the young one noticed, was the dead deer a few meters down the road. It still laid in its own blood and Piers felt terribly sorry. But he couldn´t shake the creepy feeling coming up as he saw some huge bits missing on its side, indicating that something came last night to have a snack, horribly close to their trailer. But if it was the bear, then it would probably be sleeping by now at least.

  
Wanting nothing more than to forget about this from now on, Piers turned to their hood like yesterday night. In the dark of the late hour, it had been hard to see anything and Chris had insisted to take another look at the front, making sure it was really just the lights. If that was done, they would be off to the horizon again.

  
So the taller man took it upon himself to open the hood again, looking inside and checking while Piers had brought some paper towels to get rid of the bloody mess on it, no need to shock the people on their way, right?

  
So he patiently waited until Chris lowered it again and gave an approving nod before he carefully wiped away the blood. Some on it had already gotten dry and was hard to get but it was nothing some spit couldn´t solve.

  
Being satisfied with their work, they walked back inside, maybe a bit faster than it was necessary.

 

  
\------------------------

 

  
_Lincoln, Nebraska; 3rd of November 2013_

 

 

 

They survived Halloween. But barely.

  
Chris almost got slightly melancholy whenever he thought about how much he used to love that day when he was younger. Before Raccoon. Before S.T.A.R.S. He really used to love it.

  
Nowadays, he avoided any contact with everyone, just locking himself in his house, way too afraid that he´d accidentally punch someone in the face because they were just playing their act too believable. And punching someone in the face when you´re Chris Redfield...

  
This year it was almost the same as any other year before.

  
Just sitting here on his couch, below at least three blankets to muffle the sounds from the doorbell. Not that he wouldn´t notice whenever Piers would walk past him and gave some candy to the children of Lincoln with a smile.

  
But luckily, the hours passed by, agonizingly slow but they passed and the later it got, the fewer got the knocks and kid´s voices in front of their door and windows.

  
Piers understood and even joined him in front of the TV to lift his spirit with cuddles here and there.  
A lot of things had changed in so less time. So goddamn many things.

  
On this morning, after the bear attack, they brought an impressive amount of distances behind them and just on the next day, had they reached Lincoln, the second biggest city in Nebraska. Finally, Chris was more than satisfied with that. And even Piers seemed to able to get used to the idea.

  
Not wasting much time, they had rented a little vacation bungalow by the end of the day already. Why now and not in all the other places before, Chris couldn´t exactly say. Maybe it was because both of them felt some sense of finality in this town as if they knew they had found the place. That and they both were so goddamn tired of the trailer after so long. And finding a parking place was a pain in the ass. So they just parked it as close as they could and just spend Halloween in the little cottage.  
And after it was over and they had a little time to settle in... it felt like home. Quite like home.

  
Still, both seemed to want more...

  
"So okay, this is today's paper..." The sniper sighed just as he closed the front door behind him. It was hella early and not even the sun was out entirely yet. Yet alone any people on the streets. Piers hated the cold season.  
Chris immediately sat up when his lover came to sit down next to him on the couch.

  
This bungalow, no matter how comfortable it was, was also really small even for just two people, also Chris couldn´t ignore the fact that renting a vacation apartment inside Lincoln was expensive. Very much so.  
They needed a place on their own if they really decided to stay here in Lincoln. It would make sense. The anonymity of such a big city was just what they needed. But unfortunately, living in such a huge place wasn´t cheap in general. Chris cringed as he laid eyes on merely the first advertisement of an apartment.

  
"That´s... a damn big number...", Piers agreed with a frown.

  
"...Guess I´ll have to start working again."

  
Looking up at Chris, the frown on the sniper´s forehead just increased.  
"Are you kidding me? You still have... you know, not recovered fully."

  
As if proving his point, Piers let his eyes rest on Chris´ shoulder, knowing the applied bandage beneath the cloth. They say time heals all wounds and in a lot of cases, they´re right. When it comes to physical ones. Chris´ body responded well to the treatment and it seemed that it was healing well inside, at least there was no ooze dripping out, the wound hadn´t reopened and it was stopping to be painful, at least to the point when you didn´t touch it or made contact with the spot.

  
But Piers was filled with guilt like he didn´t remember being in a long time. He tried to hide it from Chris and he liked to believe that he was doing a good job. But inside...

  
He was a ticking bomb, he realized that. And even if there were moments Chris could lift his spirits, it still felt like exposing him to awaiting death. There was no guarantee he wouldn´t lose it again. He still had no idea how to put this under control.  
And Chris almost had to pay the price for that.

  
Sometimes Piers just wished he could be normal again. If this all wouldn´t have happened, then who knows, maybe he and Chris would have still gotten it on and just made a trip like this for fun. Without the secrets, without the BSAA. And maybe he could have moved in with Chris, seeing how the older one had always said his house was too big for one person.  
Maybe they could have gotten a puppy together. And maybe they could have been there forever.

  
Not for the first time, Chris ripped him away from his thoughts with a smile. Piers had the feeling it happened more often these days.

  
"I swear to you, I´m fine Piers. Otherwise, I wouldn´t have said that. I know my limits."  
Piers just send him a flat stare. It wouldn´t be the first time the veteran would totally ignore his own condition for the sake of someone else. Chris was reckless like that, alright.

  
"Says the one who fractured his hand by punching a boulder..."

  
Chris had to admit, he had no fitting response to that so he settled with a shrug. He wasn´t sure he liked Piers knowing that little detail of his past.

  
"It was necessary at the time." He could see how Piers opened his mouth as to continue arguing but Chris never had the patience or the words to win against Piers in something like that.  
"As I was saying, I don´t mind it. Apart from that..." The older one began rubbing his palms again, his rough skin creating this sound that Piers found so irritating.

  
"How do you picture staying here otherwise? The money we got from Patricia runs out. Faster than I´d like to imagine. If I, if we don´t come up with something, then it´s the trailer for us both again, Piers. And that would make staying in Lincoln so much more complicated."

  
Piers hated it but he had to agree.

  
"You have a point there but...-" "I know... if it would be you, I wouldn´t like it either."  
The younger one released a sigh. He hated this situation. He really did. In a way, he wished he could take over this part and just find a job. But he didn´t know if he even had the courage to go and try. Making someone look into his face would be horror.

  
So they really had no choice. Eventually, they would need some money even without a flat.  
It almost hurt Piers physically but eventually he nodded reluctantly. That was his only answer, allowing no words over his lips.  
"Great!" Chris took the newspaper from him in this instant, skipping through the sites to find some job requirements instead.  
Office, Call Center, more things no one on this planet would like to do. Chris needed something where he could do shit with his hands, crafting things. But for the longest time, he had no luck. Piers crawled closer, leaning onto him so he could catch a glimpse on the pages as well.

  
Piers could never, for anything in his world, imagine Chris in an office. It just wasn´t him. For a moment, Piers let this mental image amuse him neither less. Maybe in a nice white shirt and glasses, he wouldn't make too bad of a view. But still...  
"Waiter...", Piers read aloud and a second later both of them broke out in a laughter as on cue.

  
"Yeah, sure..." Chris calmed down fast, not mentioning to Piers how laughing got his shoulder stinging from the wound. Being a waiter wasn´t something he thought he could pull off. It wasn´t that he couldn´t talk with people. In general, he could connect well to others. It just didn´t fit his overall image that he had from an activity he´d have to do every day.  
Care worker, retail employee, cashier, floral designer, event manager, delivery driver...

  
It looked slim for a long time and Chris had almost lost hope the closer they got to the end of the page but Pier´s finger on an ad stopped him.

  
"Doorkeeper?", he asked more to himself than his younger partner and said one just shrugged. Chris brought the paper closer to his face.  
Rule G Night Club. Looking for a door keeper. Payment isn´t too bad. The club is described as tidy and serious.  
Well, Chris had already seen worse in the short time they were here in Lincoln. One or two dirty, shabby strip clubs here and there. But this merely looked like a good place to hang out.

  
But being a door keeper? Chris understood that Piers thought it would fit him more than the other things but still... The aspect of danger didn´t even worry him, it looked like it was in a good part of town. And even if, he knew how to defend himself. But standing there in front of a door for hours in the night, checking IDs of young people for their age and sending some of them home. It sounded less than thrilling. But maybe, after all there years of thrill and excitement, something quiet would be quite good.

  
He could alway at least give it a try.  
"I... guess I could call them..." He looked up at Piers with a shrug and said one nodded, obviously still not comfortable with the idea.

  
A call later, in which Chris was told to come over in the afternoon tomorrow, Piers thought it would have made a good idea to look at Lincoln a little before Chris would have to introduce himself to his possible new work at the next day.  
Thankfully, their rented vacation place had free wi-fi and Piers was fast to check some activities in the city on his phone.  
Seemed like Lincoln had so much to look at.

  
While Chris had made them some breakfast, Piers had settled with the Sunken Gardens and the Sheldon Museum of Art, afterward. Seemed to make a good kind of experience for the sniper. A good experience together. Maybe it was a good start to a more domestic life.

  
A life without fear of dying every day. Just a normal life together like so many other people had. For a moment, Piers felt a pang of excitement taking over at the thought of them slowly settling in, here in Lincoln, here together. They just needed a place on their own still and then everything would be... completely normal.

  
Chris came over to him, not a long while later, with two plates in hand and set them down onto the table. "There you go!" Immediately, the hazel eyes of his partner were on him with a smile.  
"Thank you.~"

  
Piers observed the bacon and the eggs interested. Chris had always complained about the small breakfast in the trailer. Cereal, toast. He was aware how much the other craved something else. And for the time they had been living with the Hansons, he had gotten that.

  
Well, now with an own place to stay at and Piers having a lot of time on his hand, staying home... he realized they could do this more often, he could do this more often. Make something nice while Chris was at work and when he would come home again... He really started to sound like a wife, didn´t he?

  
He pushed the thought away and scooted closer to the table before beginning to eat, Chris doing the same. For a little while, they stayed silent before Piers cleared his throat and thought it would be a good time to tell Chris about his plans for the day.  
Already at the first sound, his lover perked up.

  
"You know, Chris. I thought we could do something together today."  
"We always do things together, don´t we...?", the older one asked confused with a high eyebrow and just continued his breakfast.

  
"As in going outside, y´know. Staying in here the whole time isn´t really doing something together, don´t you think...?" That merely earned him a shrug. "In a way it is but I´m not someone to turn down a nice date with my puppy."

  
Piers had come to terms with the nickname even if it still got him to roll his eyes here and then. In a way, it more amazed Piers that Chris actually took very less time to figure out what this was about if the wiggling eyebrows or his dropped voice indicated anything. Usually, he was so dense. Maybe it came with the dating.

  
"Good, cause I hope you know this is gonna consume our whole day..."  
"A day spent with you can´t be a waste.~"

  
Oh god, this slowly came to a point where it was too much, almost cringe-worthy. But just almost. If Piers wouldn´t be liking it that much. And who even cared when there was no one around to hear it but him, anyways?

  
It got Piers feeling like a giddy teenager and if he was honest, then it wasn't even so unwelcomed. Finishing his breakfast and setting the plate aside, he rather settled with leaning over to his boyfriend and coming to rest his head on said one´s shoulder.

  
It might still be a long way to something normal for them but they were heading there. In the pace they felt comfortable with and with as much time as they needed.


	30. Flowers And Art

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of research about Lincoln and its attractions that I did on this one~

  
"Oh my god,... do you see this...?" Well possible that Piers was way too excited as they walked through the gate and the first colorful flowers pushed themselves into their view. Well possible that Chris found it easy to get infected by Piers´ enthusiasm and eagerness as a smirk found the way to his lips.

  
Sunken Gardens luckily wasn´t too far away from their temporary place so they had made it there relatively fast. And it was beautiful, even Chris had to admit who really wasn´t into flowers, usually. Amazing what people had managed to create here that even now was still colorful and bright in November.

  
Even if he had to admit that he had expected it to be bigger from what you could see outside. But it didn´t put a damper on his mood, especially when Piers hurried a few steps forward and looked at everything in interest. The other seemed so light in this moment and in return, Chris did too.

  
God knew they deserved some rest. And Chris loved every second ever since they had arrived here in Lincoln. Maybe if both of them would settle into a calmer life with no triggers anymore... then C wouldn´t even be a problem anymore, since it wouldn´t have a chance to take over Piers if he was in full control of his senses.

  
So he liked to think, fooling and forcing himself to forget about C mentioning the vaccine running out.   
Slowly, he let his feet carry him over to Piers who had kneeled down in front of a rose bush a little away from the path. A second later, he already let himself drop down as well.

  
"It´s really pretty.", he started slow and he knew it usually wasn´t him to compliment something so simple as a flower but who cared today, right?

  
"Yeah..." Piers looked up and he still wore that totally happy, carefree expression. Chris felt like counting how many times he´d see it on his face today but realized that he wanted to see it the whole time, making the idea kinda impossible.

  
"You know, one day,...", his younger lover continued talking but shifted his head forward again to the flower in front of him with a blush, almost as if he was embarrassed, "...when we maybe have a little more money... I´d like for us to buy a house. With a garden. So I can plant some flowers like they are here..."

  
These future plans he just admitted to Chris were big, Piers knew that. He also knew that was likely not to come true. Unless Chris does really good and gets promoted somehow. Even if Piers was clueless if something like that even existed for simple door keepers. Probably not. And even keeping money together would not solve it, for the most part. Maybe Piers would have to take a job, after all. He decided to change his mind and gladly do it if it meant something of this could come true.

  
He felt Chris´ eyes on him and from the corner of his own hazel orbs, he could see Chris opening his mouth as to speak but before he could, Piers still threw something out there.

  
"And a puppy. I want a little dog with you."

  
It sounded strange somehow. In a way, it reminded him of a couple just saying 'I want kids with you'. But that would be ridiculous. No kids for them. Just a dog. A small, cute but still brave dog. That kind of dog that would still attack an intruder even if it was the split of the size they were. Thinking about it now... it would be kind of like a child for them, probably.   
Chris´ soft chuckle pulled him back into reality before Piers could further embarrass himself. The sniper´s head turned towards him to be met with gentle, loving brown eyes.

  
"What about a Border Collie? You want a Border Collie...?"

  
Piers threw himself around Chris´ neck faster than the older one could react, sending them both to the floor. It left Chris startled for some seconds before he laughed, loud and carefree, wrapping his arms around the other as well before rolling them both around so Piers was pinned to the ground. Said one didn´t give him the victory though and so they wrestled on the ground for some desperate seconds and Piers could feel the gazes of the other bystanders on them. Not that he cared.

  
Eventually, though, he ran out of breath and just let the other pin his hands to each side of his head, looking down into his face. Their breath was heavy and it seemed to be the only sound as eyes connected and small smiles appeared on panting lips.

  
"I´ll get you a little Border Collie pup and leave you to train it while I´m at work. And it will get you furious whenever it ripped out your rose bushes and dug holes into the perfect lawn. And you´ll be unable to stay mad at it when you look into its eyes so you never make any progress in stopping it. But in the end of the day, you´ll still love it. Just like me when I come home and we both go to bed. With the dirty dog in the middle so we never get any action in the bedroom anymore...!" Chris broke out in giggles the longer he continued until it was once again a loud laugh at the end.

  
"Sounds like a blast!~", Piers joined him as he pried his hands free and laid them around Chris´ neck, pulling him closer. "I love you..", he whispered as they both finally got down from their high, slowly, just grinning into each other´s faces.   
And lying here on this perfect, green lawn between trees bushes and flowers, with a blue pond and fishes to their right, Chris couldn´t resist but kissing Piers like that in public for everyone to see.

  
And the reaction he got was instantly as said one gasped in shock and gently pushed him away, his head immediately flying up and looking around for other people.

  
Chris tried not to feel so hurt about it. Just like Piers was self-aware of his scars, he disliked affection in public. No hand-holding, no nothing, that much Chris figured out already. Chris couldn´t fight thinking that he would behave differently if he would be dating a girl.

  
But at least did the boy show his face around again. He hadn't mentioned it to him but when Piers had just grabbed his usual jacket and not the hoodie or the shemagh to head out, Chris had felt something like a spark of relief. Sure, some people who managed to catch a glimpse of his face had looked at them longer than it was polite but Chris doubted Piers had even noticed much of it.

  
"Sorry...", the older one muttered for good measure even if he had no idea what he was even apologizing for right now.   
"D-Don´t worry about it...", Piers whispered back himself, his eyes finally done with scanning the area and coming to lie on Chris. The only person who had seen them had been a little boy, standing there on the path, watching them. His parents seemed to be the couple he had made out a little further away, walking with their backs turned to them over the lawn.

  
Hazel orbs jumped once more over to the little watcher they had and the moment he saw Piers looking at him, he seemed to grow shy and hurried after his parents but not without awkwardly waving at the two of them. Piers had to admit, that had been cute. Maybe he´d reconsider having kids in a second life time.

  
Chris eventually moved off of him now, maybe starting to feel uncomfortable as well. Not that he got up though, no, instead he just rolled to his back and stayed silent as there was nothing that needed to be said anyway. A little while they relaxed like that, just watching clouds in the sky before Piers urged Chris up again to continue looking at everything.

  
Piers loved it here, Chris could tell and he probably wasn´t mistaken when he said the boy would drag his ass here more often now. He´d gladly come.

  
But one and a half hours later, everything had been looked at and Piers suggested to get going now with the time pressing into their backs if they still wanted to go to the second place the sniper had found.

  
"Sure, let´s do that!~", the older one cheered, the excitement and happy atmosphere rubbing up on him as well. Chris had already turned his back and wanted to start walking towards the entrance as another warm hand wrapped around his, holding him back. Slowly, his eyes had found the way to his side and lastly, his hand that was now gently being held by Piers. Their eyes connected a moment later before Piers was the one to begin walking now. Chris didn´t say anything, just gently squeezed the others hand once before relaxing again and letting himself get pulled along.

  
He knew it was better not to say it but he hoped Piers knew how much that meant to him, without wording it. Holding onto Piers so openly in public, especially when they were out on the street again, felt kinda foreign in the beginning but they continued to walk like that and the feeling soon changed in one of comfortability and content. Even if anything else in their lives got taken away from them, as long as they were still holding on to each other...

  
They received some looks but once again Chris felt like he was the only one catching them. Maybe Piers had even trained himself not to notice them, just like with the marks on his face. If he really did, then it calmed Chris. Because he himself could certainly handle them staring. If they had a problem, they should come here and Chris would have no problem making them shut up. Without any violence, of course. Just his build and a dark expression would do the trick.

  
The Sheldon Museum of Art was located around two miles from Sunken Gardens, in downtown, and walking would take a person around 40 minutes. That was at least what the internet said but Piers knew if they would want to, they could make it a lot faster. Instead of that, the both of them took their time looking at every little detail their new environment had to offer, walking down the streets slowly, observing. In the end, an hour later, the huge building was finally in front of them.

  
Chris would be lying if he´d said that he was a man who appreciated art. Well, in a way he did. Just not that he ever really took the time to even get invested in the whole thing. How could he have? He never had any time before.

  
He remembered his dad drawing, though. And his mom writing sometimes. They were both inspirational people who had an easy time infecting others with their uplifting way of talking and words before they passed away. Chris was sure Claire got all of these nice traits while for him just the stubbornness and maybe the liking to music remained. Now that he thought about it, music did count as a form of art, right?

  
"You okay there?" Maybe it was in the way Piers had never many problems reading him but the sniper had leaned himself against one of the trees standing on the lawn in front of the museum, watching him as if he could see that Chris needed a minute.

  
The older one´s head slowly turned towards the other and he gave a firm nod.

  
"Yeah, just thought about something real quick."

  
"'Bout what...?" Piers pushed himself off the tree now, arms crossed in front of his chest but the way he carried himself held no hint of irritation or impatience. It was more curiosity.

  
But Chris knew, he could just say he wouldn´t like to talk about it and Piers would let it go. But he found himself really not minding it as he watched Piers coming to a halt in front of him.

  
No, instead a smile formed on his lips without Chris realizing it much.

  
"...Just that they would have really liked you..."

  
Piers blinked at him confused while laying his head a little to the side, which was rather cute. He wasn´t asking and Chris could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to figure it out by himself. And he had no doubt that he did a second later, hazel eyes widening slightly and arms weakly falling to his sides again. He knew what he meant.

  
"...You think so...?"

  
Chris just gave a nod.

  
"Damn... I really would have liked to get to know them..."

  
Chris´ eyes hit the ground and he held a sigh back. It´s been 20 years since he lost them and sometimes he still felt like he wasn´t completely over it. "Yeah, me too."

  
Piers took another step forwards now, wrapping his arms around Chris´ neck and pulled him close in a hug. Immediately, he felt Chris´ strong arms on him as well. They continued to stand there like that for a little more time under the shade of the trees.

  
And just as Chris thought the other was about to break the embrace, Piers pushed away barely enough to be able to see Chris in the face before leaning in again and kissing the other. In public, just like Chris had done so before.

  
"...!"

  
The split of a second went by and Chris was fast to close his eyes and pull Piers a little closer to himself, deepening the kiss.  
It seemed like their environment was forgotten fast and they kissed longer than Chris ever thought Piers would let him. Eventually, it was still Piers who pushed him away but with a smile on his face even as they looked over to the building again and brushed eyes with some bystanders who had seen this.

  
Piers truly looked like he couldn´t be bothered as he even held his head high, the scars for everyone to see and his hand once again reached out for Chris´.

  
"Might as well go all out, right?~" His smile was so charming and charismatic like he hadn´t seen it in so long and in this moment, the only thought that came to Chris´ mind was 'This is it. The boy is cured.'

  
Lincoln was the best thing that ever could have happened to them...

 

  
\------------------

 

  
It was rather boring for Chris. There were some nice things to look at and in some places it even got pretty interesting. But on the long run, and they had been there for four hours straight, it was draining and just really a pain in the back.

  
But Piers seemed to like it, looking at every painting in every room with an interested sparkle in his eyes so Chris did him the favor to tag along in any direction Piers decided to go and gave some little bits and pieces of his opinion to a picture if Piers wanted him to.

  
He loved the kid too much to let his lack of interest show in the time they were there.

  
"I´m so hungry..." Just when they left the museum behind them and walked back the path they had come, past the tree they kissed under, did Chris start to complain. Their hands were once again firmly locked.

  
"Well, the last thing you were eating were these sandwiches I packed us... and that was already back in Sunken Gardens..." Not once did he complain about the fact that he hadn't eaten since breakfast but was just worried about Chris instead.

  
He swore if they ever could ensure Piers a stable way of living with standards, he would afford to move to a state where it was legal and marry the other. No joke.

  
Would be one hell of an empty party afterward but they just needed each other, anyway. Piers got him out of these secret thoughts, he was not supposed to know about, with a hum.   
"I think I read there was a restaurant somewhere around here..."

  
Chris agreed eagerly to go look for it and it drew a smile from Piers. They continued down the street and with Lincoln being so big and popular, it didn´t take them long to find one.

  
It was a small restaurant with a little 'garden' you could sit in, giving it more the impression of being a cafe. They took a seat outside and ordered some drinks alongside something nice to eat and almost missed how the time passed by. It was well after 7 pm when they left and made their way back to their little place.


	31. If You Rest, You Rust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter and future chapters, I borrowed some characters from the Outbreak Files. It´s been so long since I saw a playthrough of them and I just remember a bit of it but liked it and thought that bringing back some known characters would be better than creating some new ones (not like Capcom is doing it~)

Rule G Night club looked already impressive from the outside. The building was in downtown but in a clean and nice part of it. It looked rather new or someone just took good care of it. The facade was paved with a lot of windows even if they were slightly darkened, giving it a dark appearance but in a classy kind of way.

  
Chris now crossed the street, moving away from the bus stop he just dropped off and approached it.

  
He tried to calm himself a little. He wasn´t the type to get nervous easily, he had seen too much fucked-up shit for that. But also, the veteran couldn´t say he ever remembered having a real and serious job interview before. The Air Force had something similar to it but there you basically just had to prove your physical capabilities. Well, in S.T.A.R.S. he had one, even if Barry had already coaxed Wesker in a lot, so the position had already more or less been reserved for him. And in the BSAA he just slipped in naturally with all the work and missions against Umbrella.

  
So no, he never did something like that before. And that got him scared. Guess he got used to an everyday life, feeling that it was normal to react so extreme towards such a relaxed thing, actually. After all, nothing could kill him.

  
But Chris knew his poor way with words. Piers had tried to prepare him a little better when they had come back yesterday, still. And there the sniper had to learn one thing. Chris Redfield wasn´t good in selling his qualities. 

  
He was good at giving a pep talk towards his team. He was good at making his men feel like they could take everything on. He was good at cheering people up. But more than anything, he belittled himself.   
As if saving the world multiple times hasn´t been anything. Sometimes, when you heard him talk, he even made it sound like pure coincidence he put Albert Wesker to an end, the man with the Uroboros-virus that he was just about to release into the atmosphere. No big thing, happens, right?

  
Piers had tried to make him understand he had to be braver in that department. Had to be a little cocky and brave. But no matter how long they talked, Chris couldn´t pull it off.

  
Even his military trained habit to always show up 10 minutes earlier to an appointment wasn´t something Chris could bring out there with much enthusiasm. Nothing.  
Neither the less to say, when he left the house this morning, Piers had watched him more than just worried. So much was at stake in this. They really needed some money...

  
Chris stopped for a moment when he reached the building but didn´t trust himself not to turn around if he waited too long, so he pushed open the door in the next moment.

  
He was greeted by a completely empty hallway. He didn´t expect anything else actually. Outside was a huge sign, saying they were closed and it wasn´t the opening hour but Chris still had a feeling he was expected hence to the door being open and unlocked.

  
He followed the corridor that was painted in dark colors, black, some dark blue. Wasn´t his taste of color, clearly, but he understood it was fitting for the purpose of atmosphere in a night club. He passed some toilets on his way and what appeared to be a coat department where you could store some jackets and other stuff with the personnel.

  
Arriving at the only door at the end of it, he went ahead and pushed it open hesitantly.

  
Once it stood open fully, his eyes analyzed the huge room in front of him. Obviously, that was the main dance floor. A wide, open space was in the middle, apparently designed that a lot of young people could party in here with the necessary room for dancing.

  
Once again, the room was painted in a lot of dark colors but Chris spotted the many headlights attached to the ceiling, even with them turned off you could still recognize the different colors they would shine in. Right now, the room was just illuminated through some bright, neon light panels on the ceiling.

  
On the right side were some more corridors leading away from the big hall but the angle made it impossible for Chris to see what would be hidden there.

  
Looking ahead, he noticed a small DJ booth on a small kind of podium. A pair of curtains covered the wall right behind it, well possible that there was another exit as well.

  
This all wasn´t really his taste. He could identify with this place to exactly zero percent. This wasn´t him. It was dark and so down, not that the bars in Edonia or even around the town where the base was, were any different but at least these places were quiet and calm. Chris doubted this place would stay anywhere close to quiet when the first drunken teenagers would try to enter...

  
The last big eye catcher was to his left. A bar with a long counter and a dozen bar stools in front of it. Behind that, a shelf with a neon cocktail sign and an impressive variety of liquor and booze. The usual thing. Chris decided that he would probably still like this place the best.

  
Just now did he make out a figure sitting there on one of the stools. The lighting really wasn´t the best so Chris had no way to notice anything more about the person other than them being male and smoking. A cloud of smoke left the person´s mouth as they exhaled, almost as if they just heard his thoughts. Chris frowned. But then again, it was a night club. Smoking in here should be no problem. He had seen worse.

  
"Erm... excuse me? ...Hello?"

  
Seemed like the person hadn´t seen him until now as it just turned towards him as Chris took a step inside, pulling the door close before changing his mind and leaving it open just a slit.

  
"I believe I was told to come here to..." "Introduce yourself?"

  
Chris faltered the tiniest bit in his steps but tried to cover it up by chuckling uncomfortably.  
"Yeah..."

  
The person took a last drag from the cigarette before pushing it into the ash tray right before him and getting up but not without uttering some tired sounds. His voice indicated that said man wasn´t the youngest anymore either.

  
"Nice to see that someone´s on time for once."

  
Finally, the figure faced him and approached even, stepping into the light so Chris could eventually pick up some details about the person in front of him.

  
A man as tall as he was entered his view. He looked older though, maybe in his late sixties. Older than he thought he might meet the person that wanted to talk to him. The dark-skinned man also looked like he had a few pounds too much on him to be a security guard. Then again, that never meant much. A lot more important were technique and experience.

  
In his eyes laid a cold seriousness Chris had seen in a lot of people in his life... He must have stared too much. His conversation partner took a defensive stand before grunting in a low voice, lower than before at least.

  
"The name is Mark Wilkins. If I didn´t write it down entirely wrong... then your name was John Clemens...?"

  
No friendly smile, no extending his hand to shake them.   
Even if it was slightly weird, Chris actually found that he couldn´t be bothered less.

  
About the name... He´d learned after the incident with Billy. Maybe taking an S.T.A.R.S. name had been too easy, after all. But how should he have known who Dave Blair had been?  
Now he had this name... John Clemens. Certainly a lot harder to figure out and not as unique as Aiken, maybe, but Chris still couldn´t fully let go of his history.

  
John Clemens. One computer in the mansion. A password. John. Ada.

  
"Positive. John Clemens.", he held himself short. Somehow he got the feeling quite fast that Mark wasn't really the type to like long speeches.

  
"Alright, John.", Mark barely nodded before turning around again and sitting once more. Chris awkwardly decided to follow and do the same, "So they told me to take care of your interview because they couldn´t find anyone else doing it." Well, that was honest.

  
"I´m the security guard around here. Did that for a long time already. But I´m getting quite old and... can´t work as many hours anymore like they´d want me too. Said, I need back up on this..."

  
Chris probably would have said the same in their position. He didn't miss the way Mark groaned in effort at every bigger movement, barely was able to hide his stumbling. Didn´t look like his hip was entirely healthy anymore...

  
"So that´s why they want someone to watch the door, so I can alone concentrate on the inner rooms. To sit down when it gets too much, ya know?" His voice lacked the sincerity, obviously making fun of other people´s words.   
Chris just nodded, listening. He didn´t feel like Mark would like him talking yet.

  
Instead, his eyes now laid on him and began scanning. Chris tried to appear as brave as he could given the situation.   
"You look quite strong, my boy. From the first look of it, I´d say I wouldn´t worry about your physical capability. Tell me a little about yourself."

  
Now it was his time to speak.

  
"Well, I´m 39 but I´d say I´m still pretty fit for that. I actually have some experience with combat related things so I´d definitely hold my ground against someone drunk and bothered." Mark looked up in interest instantly.

  
"Combat-related?"

  
"Yeah, had the pleasure to spend some time with the Air Force and later, worked as... a police officer." Even if Chris was doing remarkably better than he trained with Piers, he still held any information on bioterror that ever occurred in his life, back. For all he knew, the BSAA was still out there, searching and waiting for them to screw up.

  
"Air Force, eh?" Chris felt like Mark wanted to say some more things, or maybe a lot. But he stopped himself before he could and Chris swallowed down the curiosity. It wasn´t his business.

  
"Well... seeing that you did that, you should indeed know how to stand your ground. That are things you never forget about..."  
For a moment there was silence before Mark´s voice carried on.

  
"I´ll have to tell you that we´re kinda running low on staff, not just for the job you´re applying to, so... it could be that you´ll get called to appear on work on short notice. It would be nice if you could make that, so... living close would be of advantage. I know that sucks but what can ya do, huh?"

  
Chris raised an eyebrow at that. "So in other words, you´re saying..." "That people will show you more than just guarding the door and hopefully you could learn how to wait for a few tables or pour some drinks if we really have no other person doing it."

  
Without missing a beat, Mark gave Chris no chance to answer to that.  
"Oh, and it could be that you work on the weekends and holidays. And nights, but that you could already tell, right?"  
So Chris could. Somehow he got the feeling Mark wasn´t lying. They had no people and Chris smelled a lot of work hours.   
But at least the payment he´d seen in the papers wasn´t too bad...

  
"That´s fine by me, really. I never had a problem with working hard, sir."

  
Mark laughed, loud and long.

  
"That´s what I like to hear, son! Well... seeing that you were the first to come here and I really don´t see a reason we shouldn´t give it a try... I could imagine giving you a week trial and see how it goes with you and everyone else."

  
That was more than Chris had hoped for! Finally, that would get them some money and they could maybe establish something entirely new after all.

  
Chris could just smile as he reached over without a word and took Mark´s hand in his, shaking it firmly like they just made business which got Mark to chuckle once more.


	32. Split And Part

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We´re heading for a little crisis, aren´t we?

_16th of November 2013_

 

  
Explaining to Mark why he needed his money cash was difficult after the trial was over and he got immediately hired fully. It really was. Chris could convince him in the end that he had some problems with the bank by sheer mistake and was working on getting his bank account back. Luckily, he believed Mark wasn´t too suspicious of him because of that.

  
He got a full respected member of the staff in the span of merely a few days. Chris liked to thank his easy going personality and his fast understanding of things for that. He worked a lot now. Plus the bus ride there and back, he barely had time for anything else than the club. 

   
He felt guilty towards Piers. So unbelievable guilty. He came home late at night, 4-5 am, slept until noon, just to leave his boyfriend barely a few hours later again. Piers still never complained.

  
They both knew he couldn´t change it. He was working hard and long for, thankfully, a good and thick income.  
Chris was just a few days away from receiving his first payment now and he knew, the moment he´d get it, he´d surprise Piers with a place on their own finally, to cheer him up a bit. It could also be closer to the club, not like their vacation bungalow, that was still unbelievable expensive, so maybe he´d save some time he could spend with Piers instead.

  
He knew, all these thoughts had no room when he was on work, would distract him too much. But it was the only time he had to think about them at all.

  
"Hey, Johnny!" His hand stopped in its motion of cleaning the bar counter and his brown eyes found Kevin Ryman, barkeeper of Rule G. A pretty childish kind of guy, for his age. Neither the less, Chris had found no trouble connecting with him anyway. Sure, one or two of his puns were really bad once in a while but he had a good heart.

  
"Yeah?" He still was getting used to the new name.

  
"Am done with cigarette break, thanks for taking my place." Chris slowly nodded and got the hint to leave the bar now so Kevin could take over again. Taking a look around, Chris decided he could allow himself to sit down for five minutes and did exactly that, letting himself fall on top of one of these bar stools, Kevin watching him as he did so.

  
Tonight was a calm night.

  
Calm night meant just a few people. Adult one´s that rather liked to drink their beer in silence than jumping around and shouting like the teenager´s on the weekend often did.  
It was a nice and relaxing change. He never thought it could get that quiet around here even with just him and three other people in the club for tonight.

  
It was him, Kevin, Mark, which was probably at the door right now, and David King, a former plumber that had enough handyman skills to basically repair anything that broke in here.

  
David was the complete opposite in personality than Kevin was. He was serious and liked to talk as less as possible about himself. His reserved character often got him to clash with Kevin, who would often tell him to 'loosen up'.

  
Half an hour later, said one appeared on the scene. It was getting closer and closer towards the end of the night and things began to settle down. Just a handful of customers left now.

  
David sat down at the bar, next to Chris, without saying a word. That was normal for him.  
"Dave." Chris also saw the next conversation already coming from a mile. It was always the same with David and Kevin.  
David didn´t even react in the first place to the nickname. Everyone knew he hated Kevin giving every damn person a nickname. So Kevin started again and Chris half considered leaving and joining Mark at the door maybe.

  
"Dave, where the hell have ya been? I didn´t see you the whole evening."  
Just now did David look up, his gaze ice-cold. Even worse than Chris knew it from Piers sometimes.  
"In contrary to some other people, I have been working at the place I should have been and didn´t leave for a smoke every five minutes..."

  
Kevin leaned over, his elbow giving him support on the counter.  
"You mean the toilets?" Kevin never tried to hide the fact that he held very little of what David did around here. But Chris had to give David credit. Being a plumber really wasn´t the easiest kind of job, so Chris had made sure to tell David once that he really held respect for him after Kevin had belittled him once again. David had just waved him off but if Chris hadn´t been mistaken, there had been the tiniest hint of a smirk on his lips.

  
"Yeah, I mean the toilets!", David almost bursted out. Chris felt like he was intruding. Even with him trying to look somewhere else, it just felt wrong to interfere.

  
In the end, it was another voice that uttered the words brewing in his head.  
"Sometimes I don´t understand how you guys didn´t kill each other yet..."  
It was Mark, destroying Chris´ last chance to pay someone else a visit and leaving those two alone. The older man sat down as well, grunting as he did so.

  
"While you were discussing things so passionately, you didn´t even seem to notice that the last customers left. I closed the entrance now, by the way. No need to thank me.", he mumbled displeased by their behavior.

  
David seemed to be the only one who had enough manners to apologize to Mark, Kevin just crossed his arms in front of his chest instead. Sometimes, Mark was the only one who had some control over them and got them to shut up for once. It was evident they both held a lot of respect for him.

  
"I still don´t get you both sometimes. You think a life-threatening situation would put people together. Not to mention, after so many years. But no matter what I say, you still seem to dislike each other just like on the first day..."  
Both just grunted as if they wanted to dismiss it but Chris felt rather interested even if he knew it wasn´t his business.  
"Life... threatening, sir...?"

  
Mark slowly looked over to him and Chris swore he saw something in his eyes he never did before. Shame, fear. Something in between, maybe.  
"You ever heard of Raccoon City, son?"

  
The name hit him like a sledgehammer and Chris swallowed nervously. Hell, yeah he did. He lived there for Christ's sake.  
How big was the chance to not meet one... but potentially four people from the hell hole once known as Raccoon City...?!

  
"...I think I did once. Wasn´t that the city..." "That got run over by the T-virus and got erased from the history books with a huge missile from the government, yeah..." Mark had a tendency to end his sentences, Chris had noticed by now. But it wasn't just with him, Mark did that with everyone. Sometimes Chris was more than grateful for him to do such things.  
"We´re all from there." Kevin had taken over now. "We were all in the same place the evening when it started. There were zombies, suddenly and the people who survived the first wave... we kinda all stuck together from there on out."

  
"In the end, we were eight people and... we accomplished to survive in Raccoon City and its outskirts for a few days before we eventually made it out before the government ordered Raccoon´s destruction.", David said but in the same breath of air, Mark continued.

  
"All of us agreed to stay together from there on out, I mean, even if not everyone was working flawlessly with each other...", he threw a glance to David and Kevin real quick, "Such an experience still binds and sticking together helped with getting over the horrors or Raccoon. But... opinion vary and we lost Yoko and Jim because both of them had other plans. Yoko was making the decision to go back to Japan, thinking she´d find more piece there. Jim had always been interested in other cultures and followed her. First, he said for a month, then two, then he broke contact."

  
"He was totally into her!", Kevin interrupted Mark with his usual childish behavior but Mark paid him no mind.

  
"Who was totally into each other were Cindy and George. George had already laid an eye on Cindy when she was a waitress in that bar. But George was way older than she was and his job as a doctor took a lot of time from him. Well, long story short, the moment they got out of Raccoon, both of them got married. Naturally, the wish for a normal way of family living came up, kids, big house, all that stuff. Both of them moved to Kentucky and left us behind."

  
"That just left us as three people with another woman named Alyssa." Chris frowned at the name he knew so good but it was obvious that had to be someone else. There were enough Alyssa´s out there.

  
"She is a good girl and agreed with us on most parts but when we said we´d decided to go to Lincoln, she was reluctant. She wanted to keep pursuing the job of a journalist but Lincoln didn´t seem the best way to do that for her. Still, she came with us and tried to find some agencies. She couldn´t get her foot in the door though and said 'Hey, I´m just gonna follow you guys on what you´re doing, maybe we could work together.' But then we came with the bar-thing and Alyssa really didn´t want that. So she went away, saying she´d go looking for some agency somewhere else, where there would be more. She ended up in a major publishing agency in New York."

  
"She still is the only one who calls from time to time, though.", Kevin defended her and Mark had to nod.

  
"Wow...", Chris just got out. He knew Raccoon City had been bad, even if he never was there when it happened. But he heard Jill, Leon, and Claire talk about it. Especially Jill, that got infected, had talked about it as if she had seen hell. Sometimes Chris had asked himself what had been worse for her, the mansion incident or the destruction of Raccoon.  
"Yeah, son, Raccoon City was the worst thing that ever happened. Not just for us but for everyone else. And these days it just gets worse and worse...", Mark didn´t have to tell Chris that, he knew.

  
"Yeah..." Somehow Chris felt so entirely wrong in this conversation. It was the feeling of knowing so much more but having to keep it in. And the fear that he let something slip, just something small and they would know.

  
"But enough of that, really! Instead, we all should go home now and sleep a little. Tomorrow is another day of hard work, am I right?" Actually, tomorrow was Sunday but they would still have to show up one way or another. Chris was used to it by now.  
Kevin and David were out of the club in the next moment, they even seemed to get along for now. Chris began to wonder more and more what their problem was.

  
"John!" Chris stopped just a second later than a person would if it was their real name.  
"There was another person applying for your job..." Chris spun around now, a little too panicked to just lose what he gained. "But don´t worry, we need all the assistance we can get. I invited her for a little interview next week, so I wondered if you´d be interested in listening to it as well."

  
Another new face? Sure, Chris had no problem with that. Much more the contrary, he´d welcome that. So he gave a fast nod which got Mark to grin. They didn´t need much more words after that. They never did. Chris was relieved to know that he and Mark had clicked from the beginning, it made working with the older one so much easier.

 

 

\----------------------------------

 

 

When he arrived at home, Piers had long gone to bed. He didn´t expect anything else from the kid at 4:30 am, really.  
So Chris tried to do everything unbelievable slow and silent. Pushing the door open, using the bathroom, grabbing something quick to eat. He avoided taking a shower when he got home in the night, even if it slightly disgusted himself. He´d do it the following morning each time, knowing that the running of the shower would definitely wake Piers.

  
But just the moment Chris came out of the kitchen this night, Piers stood right there in the hallway. He looked so unbelievably tired and exhausted with that blanket wrapped around his frame and just some shorts and a shirt on him.

  
"Oh, Piers... Did I wake you...?"

  
Piers looked up with confused eyes as if he needed a second to understand the question.

  
"Actually, yeah..." "Oh, erm..." Chris awkwardly came closer and stopped in front of him. "I´m sorry, then..." Piers just nodded, emotionless, before he turned around and walked back into the living room, just letting Chris standing there.  
"..." Chris was aware of the fact that their relationship turned into something he had been afraid of. They barely talked ever since Chris started with this job. It wasn´t like they saw each other much to talk anyway. There were no affectional touches anymore either. If they had a lucky day, Piers would allow Chris to peck him on the lips real quick.

  
The older one didn´t think they would fall into something like this. They had been so passionate about each other, it was scary to see how fast a busy job can turn your new found love into a sleeping cancer.

  
Well, seeing it from Piers´ point of view... The sniper was wasting away in this tiny apartment alone. He never talked about his day when Chris was there but Chris doubted he went out much besides maybe getting groceries or something. He was basically alone at all times.  
While Chris was pretty satisfied with his new work and safe source of income, it was pure poison for him and Piers´ personal life.

  
"Piers..." He´d do it right tonight, Chris told himself as he followed Piers inside the living room and saw how said one was just about to push open the door to the bedroom to go back to sleep. "Yeah?"

  
He took advantage of Piers holding in his tracks and walked over to him and, without a warning, wrapped his arms around the younger one, or more around what he could feel through the thick blanket. "I love you, you know..." His partner tensed up. Tensed up, not relaxed into the touch like before. That reaction told Chris more than a lot of words and this seriously started to worry him now.

  
"That´s... sweet, really... I love you too..." That was all he got for now before Piers pressed his palms to Chris´ chest and tried to get some space between them.  
That gesture hurt even more but Piers didn´t get very far as Chris tightened his grip and refused to let him go. So Piers had no hopes of freeing himself.

  
"Chris, please... let go, I´m tired...!"

  
Where did their happiness over Lincoln go?! When they got here, everything seemed so light for the longest time and that wasn´t even that long ago! They had been happy in this little apartment, they had been happy about the city and it´s nice environment, they had been happy when Chris got that job.

  
And then, he had started to work and Piers had begun to put up these walls around him from all the hours spent alone. But goddammit, it wasn´t Chris´ fault either.

  
"No. Why are you acting like that lately...?!" Chris was all past the point of playing friendly and pulled Piers even closer. "Acting like what?"

  
"Like you don't care anymore!"

  
"Like I don´t care anymore?!", Piers growled now and tried it with more force, shoving Chris away. Unnecessary to say, Chris didn't move an inch. "I´m here all day, cooking for you, cleaning and all of that shit and you say I don´t care?! I do care, a hell of a big deal! Maybe that´s the problem! I care so much, play your little wife and I get barely any recognition whenever you finally decide to come home, yeah?!"

  
Piers was lonely. Suddenly it was so plainly obvious to see for him. Piers was just lonely.

  
It made sense to Chris. He remembered that bitchy, sassy attitude from the beginning when Piers freshly joined Alpha Team. Being a sniper in the Special Ops for so long, Piers had been used to working alone, hours, days. A solitary sniper. Working alone got Piers angry and unsatisfied for some time now and that was the behavior he had displayed. Everything changed after he learned about Alpha´s ways and the family morale. No one would leave him alone on the field anymore and Piers visibly brightened up day by day.

  
Just like most human beings he just hated the loneliness. Even in quarantine, someone would always keep him company, even if it had just been some random doctor.  
And now Chris, one of the last people he had trusted on this planet, would leave him to himself and his thoughts. The dark shadow in the back of his mind that displayed images of crackling lightning and the stench of burned flesh.

  
Chris snorted, causing his nostrils to flare up in annoyance as they both never broke their eye contact, neither ready to back away from this silent contest.

  
In the end, there was nothing Chris could come up with in his mind that would calm the situation down, besides...  
Suddenly he leaned forward, faster than Piers could have hoped to react, fully well aware that Piers would have pulled away otherwise. Their lips met in the same second that Chris´ hand shot upwards, cupping Piers´ face in the hope of holding him a little in place.

  
"Gnh!"

  
Chris set a fast pace, not aiming for a slow and gentle kiss but one that would hopefully show Piers just how passionate he still felt about him. So his tongue darted out without much hesitation and found those full lips before him. But unlike so many times before, they remained sealed, denying him out flat the entry.

  
Not a second later, Piers began squirming under him, wiggling, pushing. Making it so painfully clear that he was not interested.

  
Chris let go the moment he noticed. Brown eyes widened in surprise at the rejection.  
Piers panted, his eyes displaying just the same as if he was surprised by his own reaction but then his gaze darkened, he had made his mind up.

  
"Sleep on the couch tonight... please..." Piers sounded so tired. Tired of what? Of him?

  
It triggered something akin to rage inside Chris and his face screwed up in an angry expression as well. "You can´t just throw me out of our bedroom! Goddammit, kid, I work my ass off for you! You´re just ungrateful...!"

  
He didn´t get a response. Not vocally at least. He got it in the form of a hand, that suddenly appeared from under the mess of a blanket that Piers was wrapped in, finding his cheek and slapping him hard right across it, causing a loud slapping sound to indulge them.  
The action hurt. But not as much as it could have hurt if Piers decided to use a fist instead. At least he still seemed to have that much mercy left. It still meant that it didn´t damper the pain he felt in his chest at that.

  
"Fuck you...", reached his ears, faint and broken and if he was honest, he could have sworn he heard a crackle of electricity hover through the air. Before his eyes could even find Piers again or his head was able to turn back to him, he felt the blanket being shoved into his arms and Chris held onto them by instinct. The loud slam of the door in the next second told him he was alone now, without him having to look.

  
His eyes wandered down to the blanket with the slight lilac sheets in his arms, then they found the couch. Another scoff escaped him as brown orbs angrily glared as if they could drill holes in the piece of furniture.

  
"Fuck you too..." If that was their way of saying good night from now on...

 


	33. But Do You Know That It´s Worth It?

_19th of November 2013_

 

 

Tuesday. The day this new person was gonna come here and introduce herself. So Chris knew by now it was a woman. Nothing more. Mark hadn´t told him anything. Chris started to believe that the older man just didn´t know anything more himself.

  
They had been able to close the club for the day and all the other employees had been told to go home. Just not him and Mark.   
But that was okay with Chris if he was honest. He almost feared to be home these days. Every since that night a few days back, Piers was ice cold. And if Chris meant ice cold, then he meant a state of coldness that would let hell freeze over. David was nothing compared to this. Hands down, everyone, Piers Nivans had won this one.

  
They didn´t talk anymore, they purposefully tried to avoid each other as best as they could. Hell, Piers barely left the bedroom anymore when Chris was home. Neither less to say, it was still the couch for him. So Chris tried to reduce his time at home as much as possible, to the extent that he´d walk especially slow towards the station, provoking to miss his bus more than once, being fully aware of it just to get home later.

  
"Are you okay...?" Mark´s voice ripped him from the painful sting that once again began to settle in the pit of his stomach. Chris looked up immediately from the counter that he had started holes in, twisting the glass of beer in his hand.

  
"Yeah...", he just let out in a sigh, looking down into the glass with the liquid he poured himself. Usually not something he should do but he had learned that no one cared and usually, they didn´t call you out on it anyways.   
"Doesn´t quite look like that to me." Mark knew better. Of course he did, he always did.   
Chris didn´t need to look to know that he had taken the seat next to him, lighting a cigarette. Damn, Chris could go for a cigarette himself right now...

  
Without thinking about it twice, he asked Mark for one and said one gave it to him even if he raised an eyebrow. Chris knew it was the moment he played his chance of Mark dropping the issue. "So you wanna talk about it, Clemens?"  
"No." Chris made sure to put all the clarity he had behind that word. Because that´s just how he meant it.

  
"You know... I can´t shake the feeling it´s about a woman..."

  
Chris would have snorted but he found all of this in no way anywhere near humorous. "It´s not about a woman, believe me." He almost would have rolled his eyes.

  
"Let me rephrase that. I can´t shake the feeling... it´s about someone."

  
"..." Slowly, he rose his eye level to make contact with Mark just now. That whole situation just got really weird for him. No idea if Mark felt the same. Mark was evidently older than he was and he just said that. Either, he was really open or just didn´t understand what was going on with Chris yet.   
He was just about to take a breath and explain it to him clearly as the door, that he once came through so shyly, opened and an unfamiliar head peeked in.

  
"...Hello...?"

  
Both their head whipped around to the face of a woman with slightly curly, blond-brownish hair. She wore them open, shoulder-length. Chris felt like her green eyes pierced right through him the moment they spotted his figure.   
"Ah!", Mark simply exclaimed and he already gave her a wave, gesturing for her to come further inside. "You must be Angela Miller, am I right?"

  
"Yes, sir!", she stated clearly and stood up straight. Almost as if... military.

  
But the thought didn´t have much time to linger on him as she strode forward, brave and unwavering until, eventually, she stood right in front of them. You could almost physically feel how she willed the urge to salute away.   
"That´s what I like to hear!" Mark seemed to like her the moment she spoke up. A woman that knew what she wanted and spoke up for herself was always something nice.

  
Mark gestured for her to sit, his whole behavior a lot nicer and softer than when he interviewed Chris. In general, Chris had already gathered the impression Mark could be a real gentleman despite his rough edges and sour expression sometimes.  
Angela, like her name seemed to be, followed suit after Mark seated himself and straightened out her black dress from wrinkles with a hand before throwing a genuine smile over to them.

  
"So, my name is Mark Wilkins and this," he gestured over to Chris, "This is John Clemens." Her eyes seemed to twinkle the moment she saw him and briefly, Chris was afraid he had just won another admirer. But there was something else in her eyes. A frown.

  
"So you want to apply for the job of a security guard, yeah?"

  
"Yes." A little short on words as it seemed but Mark wasn´t bothered.

  
"I´m sorry if this sounds inappropriate but do you think of yourself as capable doing this job, physically?"

  
Angela seemed to catch what he was implying the moment it left his mouth and she stared at him, obviously feeling offended. "You´re thinking I´m too weak for this job." It wasn´t even a question. "Don´t worry, sir. If there is anything you don´t have to worry about at all, it´s me holding my own! If anyone would get in a fight with me, I´d rather be concerned about their well-being."

  
Mark laughed at that, once again loud and booming.   
"If you say that then I´m gonna trust you fully on that!"

  
Interviews with Mark seemed to be easy. Or it was the fact that they really needed staff, that barely half an hour later, Mark had told her all the conditions and the opening times for the club and, with that, basically confirmed her being a part of the team now.   
Had Chris been totally fine with it before, after this half an hour, he now wasn´t too sure if he wanted to be near this woman at all. She kept looking at him, and when she noticed, hurriedly put a smile on her face to cover the suspicion up. But it wasn´t working on Chris.

  
Something was up with her. Big time.

  
He was relieved the moment she left the bar again, silently heaving a sigh.

  
"You felt quite uncomfortable."

  
Chris shrugged, hoping Mark would leave it at that. And this time, the older one seemed to understand that Chris wanted to be left alone. "Well, sometimes it´s just like that. Maybe if you both start working together the tension will go away and things will fall into place."

  
"Maybe." Hopefully.

  
He felt a strong slap on his back and he almost yelped but could catch himself just in time. "You seem so down the last few days. Like I said, I´m here to talk."  
Chris knew it was rude but he just shook his head and got up.

  
"Okay, change of plans." Mark still didn't let up. "Friday. You and me, we both are gonna take a day off. And... we´ll go somewhere. There is a place I´d like to show you."  
To say Chris was confused was an understatement. But he was tired. Tired of everything. It was hard arguing with a clouded head. "Yeah... whatever..."

  
He left without another word just to come back to a silent, dark apartment with a locked bedroom.

 

 

 

So the days passed by until Friday without anything changing. Chris silently asked himself more than once by now, how much longer he and Piers could pull this off without something horrible happening.   
Potentially their break up. Chris didn´t even want to think about it.

  
That couldn't happen! If it did, what would happen to the both of them? Piers surely wouldn´t want to stay with him anymore. And that would mean them both splitting up ways. Which would be one big catastrophe.

  
"John..." Chris´ head whipped around from the empty space at the other side of the street that he´d been staring at for some minutes now. Mark had told him yesterday where to meet up and Chris had been 20 minutes early just to get out of... their apartment.

  
"Hey, Mark." His arms, that had been crossed over his broad chest, fell to his side as he turned to him, hoping to give a less hostile expression. They shook hands when he reached him, still a little formal but it still held some warmth to it.   
"How are you doing?" "Alright." The older one was trying relentlessly but until now Chris blocked every attempt. It got Mark to sigh but he brushed it off rather fast.

  
"Okay, well... Then don´t let us lose any more time."

  
He walked ahead, just briefly looking back if Chris was following. Said one realized he had no other choice but doing just that.   
A few blocks and ten minutes later, a rather big gate crossed Chris´ line of view and his features twisted in a frown when they stopped in front of it.

  
"Veteran´s Memorial Garden...?" Momentarily, Chris panicked. Mark couldn´t have seen right through him, right? He gave him no reason to even get suspicious. The money and bank thing aside.   
"Yeah, John. I feel like you need a little insight into such things. There´s something... that incredibly upsets you lately. And since you refuse to tell me what it is, I just gotta show you how much of a privilege you´re living. "

  
Chris refused the urge to roll his eyes. The privilege he was living, yeah right. As if he didn´t know the horror of war. How much he´d like to tell Mark about all the things he ever encountered. That he knew that life was better now. But it was hard to appreciate not being dead when your partner just decided to completely ignore and potentially break up with you.   
He and Piers were in a crisis. And a petty, little visit to some bricks in a wall with names on them, wouldn´t change a damn thing about that.

  
Mark sensed his sour mood in a second so he just shook his head and pushed past Chris, entering the green park first. "Come."

  
There were a million things Chris would have rather done than this. He just hoped it wouldn´t get too bad for him. He wasn´t sure if something like this could trigger anything. Would depend on how close he would let it get to him.   
Not having much time to think about this, not that he wanted to, he followed Mark who had already marched on quite a bit. He caught up to him the moment Mark turned around and waited for a little before leaving the gate behind them. They chose one of the paths and before long, they passed some stones with engraved titles, name and such. Chris tried not to pay too much attention to them but Mark immediately started talking as they continued to walk down the calm, gravel passageway that led through shadowy bushes and trees, the occasional memorial stones in between.

  
"So I remember you telling me that you served, my boy?" That was fast forward but Chris knew this question would come. At least by now, his arms had fallen to his side, representing his mood getting a little lighter, at least calmer. After all, this place wasn´t really the happiest place.

  
"Yeah..." "Air Force, right?" "Yeah..." Chris didn't feel like talking too much. Mark understood and took that part over for him.   
"I was stationed in the Vietnam War." That had come out of nowhere and Chris´ head whipped to his side, eyeing how Mark´s face became darker by the second.   
"Oh, I... I didn´t know, erm... sorry..." He was babbling now but at the same time, he didn´t know what he should say to that. Luckily, Mark continued fast.

  
"It´s okay, John. Really. I´m over it. Even if the dark shadows still hang over it all. Sometimes, the nightmares come even if you don´t want them to."  
Chris could relate very well but chose to stay calm as the pair found a silent place with a bench on the side of the path and Mark sat down on it, leaving Chris no other choice but to do it as well.

  
"The memories are the worst, you know. Comrades lost, left behind. It was the worst time in my life. I always had some strong sense of unity but... I lost so many people. When Raccoon happened... I was just so glad I found some other people. People that formed into a group no matter their differences, so we could all make it out of there, alive. Together."  
Every second he kept talking, Chris could hear a little more of himself out of these words. His interest perked up and he gave Mark his honest attention now.

  
"But even after this was over as well... My wife and son had made it out of Raccoon uninjured, thank the Lord. But still... even after moving here to Lincoln, it´s still there. It´s always there."  
Mark seemed to sense Chris listening and he really poured his heart out here. And Chris would like to do the same about his story but couldn´t. Chris Redfield could never leave any traces in Lincoln. So he could just sit here now, at least trying to give Mark some reassuring words.

  
"I can imagine." He seriously could. "But... you still have each other."

  
"Perhaps... my wife is the most supporting person I have ever met and my son is so precious as well. They´re there, indeed."  
Chris let his gaze wander around and caught glimpse of a big memorial a little further away. In bold, big letters, surrounded by some simple decor, the words 'Special Forces' were engraved into it. Special Forces...

  
"Love is a big and important part to get over something like that, John. Humans crave love. In which form is unimportant. Siblings, friends, lovers, parents...." Mark dropped his gaze to the ground as if he thought about his own words.   
"I feel like... You know, it´s not my business to sniff around your private life but something is up. I just wanna help."

  
Chris averted his eyes from the stone and from all the others as well, now dropping his gaze too. This was getting too dark. He feared another attack if he continued to read all these endless names on these memorials! And he had been fine for the longest time...! He didn´t want to fall back into that pit.

  
"Yeah... Something is up, indeed..."

  
"It´s a guy you love." Chris´ head flew up again and big, surprised orbs met Mark. The words had come out of nowhere, making the breath get stuck in his lungs. "Wha..."  
"You said it wasn´t a woman, so... I made my own conclusion." Mark just shrugged and once again Chris was more than surprised how open Mark seemed to be about this, especially with his age.   
He gave Chris no time for excuses.

  
"You don´t seriously think I´m that shallow, eh? I´m maybe a little older than you but I know what´s right and wrong. That´s more than just fine by me, John. Don´t worry about it." A chuckle cut him off for a second. "Hell, I´ll be damned if I don´t think that David and Kevin aren´t... that way to each other!"  
Sensing his opportunity to steer this conversation off himself, he asked with a shaking voice. "David and Kevin...? I thought they hated each other."

  
"Oh no, I don´t think so. Not for a long time anymore, it´s an act to pretend that they can live a lie. But anyway, my boy... I´d much more like to continue talking about you!"  
"Th-That´s really not necessary."  
"But apparently it is! You´re totally upset in the last time. Did he dump you?"  
Chris hesitated in his answer. "...No..."

  
"But it´s getting there?" He really didn´t like how close Mark got to the truth in barely a few open left questions. His silence must have been enough for Mark as he leaned back on the bench, now shifting his eyes to the blue sky. A sigh followed.  
"How long you two been datin´?" "...Not even a month..." So he finally admitted it...

  
"Are you kidding me? Boy, when I was barely a month together with my wife, we never left the bedroom...!"  
Chris knew Mark was just trying to help but it rubbed salt in all the wrong wounds. Hell, he´d love to do just that with Piers! God knew how long he and Piers were already going without.... it. But things were looking grim. They began to fall apart after not even being together 30 days. Usually, if they were another couple, Chris would say it wasn´t meant to be and maybe that person should move on. But this was his own situation and that made everything look a lot differently already.

  
"Yeah, I know... Look, I..." Chris tried to explain himself but words didn´t seem to come out.

  
"I think I understand... You and him, you´re having a hard time. But why? You know there must be a reason for that, John."   
Chris looked up at the ground and frowned as he let his gaze wander around. If he was fully honest, then he knew the reason fully well. Piers was dying of loneliness in the small, rented apartment. Chris was working too much. That was all there was to it.

  
But for everything holy in the world, Mark was his superior. He couldn´t just go ahead and tell him, he felt like he was working too much and would want more free time.   
"We... don´t spend much time with each other these days anymore..." That still didn´t sound optimal but at least not like he was giving Mark and the club any fault.

  
"Why is that?" Goddamnit, Mark... "You already started to drift apart?"

  
"Not... really. I still think he loves me and hell, I know I... love him too." It was kinda awkward saying this out loud to Mark. "But... we are new here and we have no one but each other. I think he gets lonely..."  
Mark could make his own conclusion, after all, he knew how long Chris stayed in the club every day. Because it was necessary. Or sometimes, he just stayed longer so he wouldn´t have to talk to Piers at home who was just pissed lately. And when he stayed longer, because he felt uncomfortable going home, it just got worse with the sniper. Chris was in a spiral he had brought himself into and now didn´t know how to escape.

  
"You want me to cut your working hours?" Chris didn´t think Mark would react that helpful as to tell him right away it would be okay if he worked less. But that was not an option either. He and Piers needed the money.

  
"No... it´s fine just like it is.", Chris lied. Mark just looked at him for a second before shrugging again. "Offer still stands if you need it some time."  
They fell silent again, this time a little longer, before Mak spoke up again, apparently not being able to let this issue alone.   
"You said you love him."

  
Chris´ eyes jumped over to him, an eyebrow raised. "...Yeah..."  
"Did you show him in the last time?"

  
"He doesn´t let me! I tried but he just pushes me away...!"  
Mark hesitated but soon a smile found his lips. "Buy him flowers."

  
"What?!"

  
"I said, buy him flowers! I know my wife loves flowers. And even if he is a guy and maybe not so much into flowers... it´s the gesture that counts and he´ll appreciate it." Oh, Piers was into flowers, alright.   
So the idea wasn´t even that bad. It was incredibly good, actually. Chris thought for another minute before he already stood. "Oh my god, how did I not think of this..."

  
Mark smiled. A cocky kind of smile that Chris never saw on his face before as he looked up. "That´s what you have me for!"   
Chris looked at him one more time, their eyes connecting and he was sure Mark understood what he had to do now. "Can I leave you to yourself without feeling bad?"

  
"Sure can, mate!" Chris was just about to turn around as he once more heard Mark´s voice. "Don´t forget what I said about love, son! Every human craves it. So does he! You just gotta find an opening to reach out to him and show him!"

  
"Roger that!"

  
Chris followed the path in long strides before his eyes found that memorial from earlier. Special Forces. Piers had been in the Special Forces once. Taking another moment for that, Chris walked over and his eyes slid over the gray granite stone with the bold letters on it. A bunch of names were on it and Chris took the time to read them all once.

  
A bunch of men who died in the service. It was so sad, every time.

  
Bioterror wasn´t the only terror out there. And, Chris realized, no matter how hard they would fight, this war would probably never end. It would always be there.

  
For a moment, Chris felt unbelievably hopeless but he knew it was the wrong way to think of it. Even if they would never truly be able to wipe away all and every trace of violence in this world... they could also not let the terrorists win. If they would stop now, then this all was for nothing.

  
_Then this was all for nothing._ Piers´ words were so clear in his head.

  
Piers...

  
Looking up again, Chris ripped himself away from his train of thoughts and uttered a quick prayer under his breath for his fallen comrades before he turned away from the memorial and continued to hurry down the way they had come in the beginning.


	34. Bunch Of Roses

"Come ´ere, Max! Bring it to me!"

  
The boxer dog, obviously named Max, listened to its name instantly and picked up the stick on the ground before turning and sprinting over to its owner as fast as it could. The young man, that it stopped in front of, dropped to his knees and cheered in happiness as the dog dropped the stick right in his hand just for him to throw it again. Well behaved, Piers had to say.

  
The sight of the happy duo reminded him in so many ways of him and Charlie back in the day. Sure, these days were over now and he should just get over it. But the haunting emptiness of 'home' was something he couldn´t stand anymore. And Chris had left early this morning, making him no hopes to come back all day. So nothing different than usual as well. The moment Chris had left through the front door, Piers had made up his mind.

  
He never went out alone normally. If you think about it, he didn´t even leave the house since Sunken Gardens anymore, if you don´t count the hasty visits to the supermarket.

  
His condition had gone worse again without Chris on his side. Without the other in the same bed at night, nightmares had picked up again, sleeplessness as well. He began to feel more insecure and being upset reminded him that the distant voices in the back of his head were still there as well.

  
So he reached the conclusion some sunlight and fresh air would do him good. Even if people would stare. But it was in the middle of November, he´d just have to put on some more clothes to not let people see. He didn´t feel strong enough for that today.

  
He had strolled down the main street before his feet had carried him in the direction of Sunken Gardens on their own accord. It reminded him that he had found out about a small dog park barely a few streets away from there.

  
The sniper had walked past Sunken Gardens but not without throwing some glances on the flowers through the fence.   
Now he stood here, in front of this wide and green dog park, just leaning on the fence from the outside and watching people with their dogs. Wasn´t that pathetic?

  
But Piers knew that was exactly who he was now. Just pathetic. He and Chris weren't coping anymore and instead of talking with him about it, he thought of it as better to run and just look at other people's happiness. That sure was going to solve all his problems. But talking with Chris had become such a difficult task lately.

  
They both were at fault here, Piers knew. After all, he was acting like an asshole just like Chris did as well. Then again, Chris was just trying to earn some money to help them survive. Maybe... in the end, Chris did nothing wrong. But he himself… dumped Chris on the couch and behaved so fucking bad towards him.

  
He still loved Chris. Dearly. And he liked to believe Chris did as well. It's been barely a month. Feelings don't change that fast, right? Well, they could if that person felt mistreated. Did Chris do that? Probably. He was probably blaming Piers for everything and the sniper could understand if he did.

  
Slumping over the fence, he sighed. His eyes still lied on the display in front of him. Everything he ever wanted and now wouldn't get. He probably deserved that.  
Chris and he, they wanted to adopt a dog. They wanted to get a big house and flowers in their garden. They wanted to be happy here in Lincoln.

  
Now he had the feeling Chris hated him.

  
To the point where even he could see the potential danger for their relationship. With them not touching, yet alone barely talking, most couples would have already stepped on the brakes. Ending it before it could get worse. But that was not an option for Piers!

  
Never did he want to leave Chris.

  
Yet he couldn´t deny that it was getting bad. A breakup would not only endanger their whole facade but... what would they do then? Carry on alone? Piers was already on a road to self-destruction with the dark thoughts and depressing feelings. With the virus inside, that apparently just Chris could keep calm, it wouldn´t take long before he would either end it himself or turn back towards the BSAA again to let them finish the job. It would mean his clear end.

  
And what about Chris then? The veteran had turned his back on everything. He literally couldn´t go back, unthinkable what the BSAA would do to him once they got their hands on the 'traitor'.

  
He would have to keep living in hiding. And Piers knew fully well that Chris wasn´t in the safest state of mind either.

Everything was weighing down on him heavily. He had PTSD. He had to take pills to sleep at night. Chris was just as done with this world as Piers was. And just like for Piers, there was just one person that still held him here. Piers couldn´t risk Chris slipping even deeper. They would both just have to make this work further. Had to stick together. Chris had been the one saying that in the first place.

  
They would have to both swallow their pride and someone had to start talking!

  
For once, Piers didn´t feel he would mind being the one to crawl back. This was a two-sided street and he had refused to do his part in this relationship for the longest time.

 

  
\--------------------------

 

  
The moment Chris entered the florist´s, he felt like all the eyes inside where on him. He totally felt out of place.   
Not only was the shop small anyway, meaning not quite as many people inside, no. The people that were indeed inside, customers or staff, were mostly female. At least his eyes failed to pick up any male figure.   
The decoration and the colors were pretty feminine. Pink and orange, red dominated the whole theme and yeah, Chris felt out of place.

  
Couldn´t he have just chosen a flower shop that was normal...?

  
He forced himself to continue walking, muttering a small 'Excuse me' under his breath even if he didn´t clearly know why. He made it to the counter, eventually, and he raised his gaze to meet eyes with an older, friendly looking lady in a pink apron and glasses.

  
"Hello, my dear, wonderful day, isn´t it?~" She was all rainbows and kittens. And just as he thought that a fat cat jumped up from behind the counter, giving Chris a good scare before sitting on its butt, looking at him judgingly like the biggest bitch.   
"Y-Yeah...", he pressed out, his eyes never leaving the grey and black monster.

  
That that not being enough, another girl in an apron, this time remarkable younger joined her older colleague at the counter, looking at him expectingly. Okay, calm down, ladies, he just needed one.

  
"What can we do for you, honey?~" She leaned onto the counter so that her long, black hair fell off her shoulders and partly into her cleavage that already hung low and she just gave him even more insight into than he had wanted.   
Why did that always had to happen to him? Didn´t Lincoln have enough men for these hungry women?!

  
"Well... the most obvious. I wanted to ask if you could make me a nice bouquet?"

  
"For a lover?~", Blackie, how he called her in his head now, asked and leaned even further onto her arms, pushing out her boobs. For a moment he thought about humoring her and saying 'For my mother'. But he restrained himself.

  
The old woman rolled her eyes but it was with a grin and she turned to a bowl on the floor in the corner of the room and poured some milk in it, the cat immediately leaving as well so both Chris and Blackie were alone for a moment. Chris felt uncomfortable without a second passing.

  
He had no idea if Grannie had done this on purpose.

  
So he went with the better choice in his head and immediately tried to drown out her flirting attempts. "Yes. A lover."  
She couldn´t seem to be bothered as she took one of her dark locks between two fingers and rolled it between them. "Is she... pretty...?~"

  
Chris couldn´t believe this. His eyes looked over to Grannie, searching for help and practically begging with his looks. The moment their eyes met through her thick glasses, she seemed to understand and returned to Blackie´s side.

  
"Veronica, please...! You´re embarrassing him. The poor boy doesn´t even know what to say!" She lightly pushed the younger one away and Chris somehow got the impression they may be related. 'Veronica' rolled her eyes and actually took a step back but still remained standing there until another woman came to the other counter, obviously wanting to buy as well, and her relentless eyes got Veronica to sigh and walk over there, finally leaving them alone.

  
"She can be too eager." The older woman ran a hand through her loose bangs and reached for her bun, checking if it still was tight. Chris let her and tried to bite back that poisonous remark forming in the back of his throat but, in the end, couldn´t. "I noticed..."

  
Grannie just giggled in a forced manner before she brought the topic back on track which he was grateful for. "A bouquet, you said?"  
"Yes, it has to be really pretty. Big too, I think...", he mused. Couldn´t go wrong there, right?

  
"Ah, I see. Well, that maybe doesn´t come as a surprise to you but a lot of young, pretty women like roses, especially.", she chirped. But it missed its effect of pleasing the customer as Chris frowned at her.

  
God, sometimes he was just so damn tired of playing this game. Like right now. He didn´t want to deny Piers. So he wouldn´t this time. If she didn´t like what she was about to hear, she should just throw him out and he´d find another shop.   
"So what do young, pretty men like especially, then?"

  
A gasp came from his left and he knew it was Veronica as she was just about to come over to them again but now stopped in mid-track.

  
By now Chris had found the older woman´s name tag on her apron. Well, 'Mrs. Jenkins' sure tried hard to keep her facial features in check before she eventually forced a smile on her lips. He could see it was forced. Rainbow-and-kittens-grandma was suddenly not so light-hearted anymore. Fascinating...

  
"Roses, I suppose..."

  
In the end, it was Veronica that had to finish his order while Mrs. Jenkins had turned her back on them and left through a door, probably to some kind of back room. She didn´t want to serve him anymore suddenly.

  
But Veronica did and she even gave him a non-flirtatious smile and a thumbs up as he left the store five minutes later with a huge bouquet of roses in his hands.

  
It was kind of awkward as he ran around town with this exaggerated thing in front of him but he kept telling himself it was for his and Piers´ future together. So thankfully, with that thought in mind, their bungalow came faster into view than he thought.  
He fumbled for the keys in his pocket that proved to be difficult with a hand full of flower. But he managed and kicked the door open just to be greeted by... total emptiness.

  
No sound, no movement. Chris called Piers´ name. Nothing.

  
Piers wasn't home...?

  
That was weird. Piers never left the house. In the last time.

  
He had always been there when Chris came home.

  
Chris swallowed the uneasy feeling down that began to settle in his gut. It was the same tight sting he remembered feeling when he once woke up in Bearcreek with Piers missing from his side as he went out with Alyssa. But hey, maybe it was exactly that.

  
Maybe Piers was somewhere out there, having fun. Chris didn´t have the right to stop him from that. Why should he?  
Maybe because he was dying of worry right now?! He wouldn´t have a problem if Piers would have told him. But after the grim times lately...

  
Maybe Piers had also just left him. Deciding to do it when he wasn´t home so it was easier on him. Nah...  
Piers wouldn't do such a horrible thing... right? They were still alright?!

  
The constant hanging of uncertainty in the air, the feeling of being totally oblivious was starting to go on Chris' nerves. Just then he remembered the dog park nearby. Piers was talking about it the small few times he had been talking at all the last few days. It was worth a shot.

  
Time to talk everything through, getting some answers. And finally clarity about wherever they were still dating or not! A simple yes or no!


	35. Kiss Me, Hold Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little short but it happened to fall like this since I already prepared it sooner.
> 
> Hope you can forgive me~

20 minutes later, he had reached his destination. This time, he couldn´t have cared less about how it looked when he stomped down the street with an angry expression, the flowers in his hand a strong contrast.

  
His steps, however, grew slower when the street turned into a path leading into the park as the environment became greener with all the trees picking up.

  
A moment later, Chris stopped altogether.

  
Piers was there, thank the lord, leaning over a fence that apparently surrounded the dog park. The kid looked lost. Even more so than usual. His head shifted ever so often, watching the owners that happily cheered to call their dogs to their sides.

  
Apart from that, Chris couldn´t see much more. Piers had gone back to layers and layers of clothing to hide the reminders of his sacrifice on his skin. Chris had seriously thought they had been over that point. In a way, it hurt seeing it. But he was well aware that it could be partly his fault, probably was so even.

  
Piers had begun shutting down again. Hell, they had talked so less recently, Chris barely knew what was going on inside the other.

  
Awkwardly, Chris cleared his throat and took another step, holding the flowers in front of his chest that caused them to partly cover his face as well.

  
"Erm... hey there, puppy..."

  
It wasn´t just Piers´ head that whipped around at that. Some of the people from the dog park, that was in their earshot, looked as well as if they expected another actual dog getting addressed.

  
For a moment, Chris felt incredibly embarrassed over the fact, with this huge bouquet still in hand and all. But then he pushed his face to the side, around the flowers, to be able to see Piers and the sniper suddenly stood right in front of him, looking up at him with big, hazel eyes. They were full of emotion.

  
"Chris...? Why did you-...?" He apparently wasn´t able to finish the sentence and Chris felt how precious the moment was. Not just for himself but for Piers as well.

  
"I bought you flowers..." He pointed out the obvious just because it was the only way he knew how to start this conversation. "I-I... thought I should apologize. I´ve been really a shitty boyfriend lately... So I... wanted to get you something that is almost as pretty as you are..."

  
He knew this was maybe a bit much with the compliments. But it was how he truly felt so, in the end, he felt little ashamed of being so sappy.

  
Piers´ eyes flickered from his face to the bouquet and back and Chris´ heart skipped a beat when a smile graced these lips, he hadn´t seen that in a while.

  
Piers seemed to like it. Chris was relieved.

  
Piers pulled down the shemagh further out of his face and suddenly he got on his toes, leaning in and kissing Chris sweety. Said one closed his eyes immediately and let him. It had just been too long since they shared some true affection.

  
They stood like this for some seconds, just feeling, enjoying, before they broke apart and Piers whispered almost shyly a small 'Thank you' before taking the bouquet from him, covering most of his body now that he was holding it. Chris maybe should have chosen a smaller one, after all.

  
Cheering erupted behind Piers now and said one turned around while Chris just raised his gaze to see the people in the park, all of them, no exception, clapping and shouting over to them like they just got married.

  
Piers blushed instantly and tried to hide himself behind the flowers while Chris just looked at these people blanky before, a second later, waving over unashamed with a grin and a thumbs up.

  
These people had restored a little of his faith in humanity that day. Especially after that flower shop. There were still good humans around.

  
"Chris... let us go...", Piers whispered over now, still a prominent blush on his face. He looked so good like this, Chris considered briefly to just lean over and kiss him again. Making up for so long where he wasn´t able to do so.

  
But he understood Piers´ uneasiness and nodded. They turned to leave but Chris still didn´t let the opportunity pass to lay an arm around the other´s waist. Piers let him and Chris was grateful that he did.

  
The walked some minutes in silence before Chris broke the ice. "So... the dog park. Were you there to figure out what dog to get us?~"

  
Piers looked at him like a kid that just got promised candies and toys. Like these words were a promise. Because they were. And Chris was totally aware of it. "Actually... I was just there to cool off... but I like your idea more!"

  
"Haha, of course you do!" Chris ruffled his hair, earning silent complaints from him as the sniper almost dropped the flowers in surprise. This felt better. A whole lot. Like starting to live again.

  
They talked some more about dogs and plans and big dreams of the future that it reminded Chris once again that he had almost lost all of this. So when they were almost home again, just a few blocks between them and their bedroom, that Chris was pretty sure he was allowed to sleep in again, the veteran took a deep breath and apologized. "I´m sorry.", left his mouth and Piers almost stopped in his tracks but instead kept walking alongside Chris.

  
He knew why Chris said it, he could understand but the sniper more and more saw himself at fault so his eyes found the red flowers in his hands and he frowned. "So am I..."

  
Chris looked up but Piers just kept talking. "I was very unfair to you. You just try your damn best to keep us alive. And yeah, you gotta work a lot to do that. But... I just thought about me. I had the feeling you were abandoning me when in reality.. you just did everything of that for me..."

  
This time it was Chris who just stopped in the middle of the pavement and Piers followed his example, turning towards him with a weak smile.

  
"Well... my behavior wasn´t the best either... the moment it got hairy between us, I sometimes... came home later on purpose and went earlier. I... could have been a lot more there for you in the last days but... I couldn´t stand the atmosphere. Us both just fighting." Chris really didn´t want to make this sound like an accusation. Like it was Piers´ fault that he didn´t want to come home so he took a step closer and once again his arms found Piers´ waist in front of him. "I just... want us to be fine again. I just want us to be happy again, Piers. Just that. No more fighting and arguing. Instead, more kisses and touches again, alright?"

  
As if to prove his point, he lightly pushed the roses to the side with one hand to press their lips together once more with a dreamy sigh. Piers immediately responded with a hum himself, shifting his head a little to the side to allow them a better angle.

  
It felt great to be able to do that again and Chris almost got lost in the feeling when his tongue darted out, wanting to taste him again. But Piers gently pushed him away, not with rage like the last time but with a bashful expression. "Y´know, old bear. Kissing is fine in public but not... making out. I´d ask you to hold yourself back until we´re home...!"

  
Chris chuckled embarrassed but swallowed it down when a hand came to rest on his cheek. Brown found hazel and full lips stretched into a grin, small scars lightly pulling at the tissue of pink, sensitive skin.

  
"...I still love you more than my life..."

  
Chris swallowed once again at the tender words. He never liked it when Piers had phrased it like that. That whole 'I would die for you again if I had the chance'. But right now he felt flattered like never before. That sacrifice back in China had been the ultimate proof of love and he almost lost everything right after. Now that everything was standing right here in front of him, telling him just how much he loved him, after their little crisis.

  
"I love you more than anything." Chris pressed him tight against himself and another few minutes passed as they both just tried to calm down a little from their brewing feelings.

  
Then they did, they walked on almost as if nothing happened and the moment they arrived home, Chris made sure to show Piers just how much he had missed him with a nice meal and some loved kisses. Piers had no problem to let Chris play that part this time.


	36. Bottom Of A Bottle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter is up!~
> 
> A few things have changed in my life, not really to the better but it´s still alright. Schedule isn´t influenced by it~  
> That said, I... still lowkey ship David and Kevin, even though they had a terrible chemistry in Outbreak... blame fanfictions xD

_6th of December 2013_

 

  
Friday. Two weeks had passed and things had begun to get better again. By a lot. They had moved in a haze. Chris actually had found a place close to the club which was rather cheap. Sure, it was small but it would do. The landlord was a wonderful, middle-aged lady that had grinned from ear to ear when she had found out about him and Piers living there together as a couple. In general, neither he or Piers were hiding anything anymore.

  
They were going out again. As a couple. Holding hands, kissing and all. Restaurants. Events. Shopping in a mall or just the supermarket. They were back to the way they had been when arriving here.

  
Piers was smiling again. Would fall around his neck when he came home even at night, would drag him outside for some fresh air and sun after they got up in the morning. He felt like he had fallen in love with Piers all over again.  
Chris was allowed to sleep in the same bed with Piers again. They were sleeping better now. Sometimes, Piers allowed him to spoon him and hold him close at night.

  
The only thing that Chris still didn´t quite understand was that Piers still wouldn´t agree to return to sex.  
Whenever he tried, Piers would gently push him away with a weak smile and a shook of his head. Chris didn´t quite understand. Maybe the puppy just wanted to get back on track slow.

  
Not that it bothered Chris. No, not at all. It didn´t bother him in the slightest that he was almost going a full month without sex now, no! ...God, was he bothered.

  
He didn´t even know why, he mused as he stood in front of Rule G Club and watched the door as people entered, always keeping an eye out for someone suspicious or too young.

  
It wasn´t as if he had a lot of sex before he ran away with Piers. That wasn´t the case at all. He had some encounters here and there whenever the stress got too much, looking for some kind of release. But he had definitely gone without that for a month before. Two or three at that, maybe more. But Piers was Piers. And Piers was also the one Chris felt horribly attracted to. In every way.

  
He craved him. But he knew he had to be patient and understanding. Piers was still fragile.

  
So he stood there the whole evening and night as it got later and later. At around 2 a.m. he traded places with Mark as he wanted to take the place at the door and Chris should go inside instead, to look if everything in there would be fine as well. Chris was grateful for the change. It had been damn cold outside.

  
But when he stepped inside, he got reminded why he always preferred it actually. Loud music, shouting, drunk people randomly bumping into each other just to giggle awkwardly or... get angry.

  
He could see Kevin over at the bar having a hard time with so many customers so David had apparently decided to help him out a bit. That was the only explanation Chris could think of as he saw the other behind the counter as well, mixing some drinks.

  
Chris decided to walk over there, as good as he could with the huge crowd blocking his path, forcing him to squeeze through. From the corner of his eyes, he spotted Angela that walked around in a pretty revealing waitress outfit and a tray in hand, serving customers that sat on tables that weren´t right at the counter.

  
Mark had employed her with the job of a security guard but just like Chris, she had agreed to do other jobs as well if necessary. Apparently, it was more than necessary to make her play waitress now... ever since she signed up. If Chris was her he had been tired of this by now.

  
Chris finally arrived at the bar and watched the two Raccoon survivors work for a moment before it got quieter again and Kevin found the time to lean over to him. "Ey, Johnny! Not on the door anymore?"

  
"Mark took over. I´m here now. Can you gimme a beer?"

  
Kevin just grinned and nodded, turning away again and brushing past David who served another customer. Chris´ eyes squinted and he caught a glimpse of Kevin´s hand brushing almost accidentally over David´s butt. Chris waited for a reaction but it never came.

  
Chris raised an eyebrow but kept silent as Kevin came back a second later with a big filled glass of beer. The veteran paid attention but this time as he passed David, nothing happened. He might have just imagined that... It was late.

  
"There you go, big guy."

  
"Thanks..." Chris was just glad that alcohol was on the house for staff. He just needed a beer tonight. So he grabbed himself a bar chair that just got free and pulled it as close to the counter as he could, sipping his beer.

  
Kevin seemed to be able to spare some more time and leaned onto the counter, watching him. Chris was about to make a stupid comment and tell him to return to work but Kevin´s next words got him to stumble over his own.  
"You know... ever since you walked through the door... I can´t shake the feeling I know you from somewhere..."

  
Chris looked at him with big eyes.

  
He knew by now that Kevin had worked in the RPD before Raccoon went down to shit. Just like he did. And in contrary to Leon, he had been there for some months already. He himself couldn't remember Kevin from back there, probably because they were in entirely different complexes but... he wouldn´t deny the possibility that they could have met somewhere in the halls.

  
"Oh yeah...? Are you sure you didn´t drink yet yourself?" Chris tried himself at a flat reply and Kevin laughed and dropped the issue. And that was everything that was important to Chris.

  
"So I heard you were out with Mark that one day. I remember you being pretty done before it. And now you´re up for a good laugh again. What did the old man tell you, heh?"

  
Chris knew he said that he wouldn´t want to deny Piers anymore. But these were his colleagues. He´d rather like them to not know...

  
"Were just going through some stuff. Mark made me realized that it´s important to see it from another perspective. "

  
"From the perspective of whom...?~" Kevin sure didn´t give up that easy...

  
Chris looked up in annoyance after he downed a big gulp of alcohol in one go. "Of someone else obviously!"

  
"Well, no shit. Who?" Chris just growled. "A girl?~" His growl turned into a sigh.

  
"No, not a girl!" That at least had been the truth.

  
David came over as everything was quiet for now and Chris had hoped he´d side with him, give him some back up against Kevin but his wish seemed to not get granted tonight.  
"You seem still pretty uptight, John. Better but still uptight. If... your problems aren´t fully solved yet, you know you can talk with us."

  
Why did everyone behave like his fucking psychiatrist?! He downed the last of his beer and brought the glass more forceful than necessary back onto the table. "Better you get me another drink!"

  
For a moment, Kevin and David looked at each other before David gestured with his head to do exactly that and the other one actually complied, leaving them alone for now. David immediately leaned forward like Kevin had done before.

  
"Are you sure you´re alright?" Somehow, Chris had always trusted David more than Kevin. Not that he was thinking that Kevin would get him into trouble (maybe accidentally with his big mouth) but David had that serious, calm composure about himself that made you feel like you could trust him with every secret ever.

  
Chris sighed. "Alright... so Kevin was right... I had problems with someone and now... we found a solution. Or more like a half solution. Because I don´t feel like we´ve talked about everything yet."

  
"How so...?"

  
Maybe it was the alcohol already kicking in. Chris dismissed the thought a second later. It had just been a glass of beer and he was a heavy drinker, he could take a lot. There had to be another reason, trust, that he went ahead and kept talking.  
"So, I am in a relationship with... that person. Things had been bad but it got better after I talked with Mark and saw my mistakes. We made up..."

  
"That´s awesome, isn´t it?"

  
"Would be. Since then.... must be two weeks now, we behave like a couple again, we kiss, we... touch. Just... nothing more than that..."

  
Chris didn´t want to sound like one of these men that complained about their wife having headaches all the time and them not getting any sex because of that. He really didn´t. He didn´t even want to talk about this in the first place. Goddammit, why did he not just say everything was dandy. He could have walked away from this.

  
Now he was rewarded with David raising an eyebrow, looking at him with that silently, judging gaze. Chris was almost about to get up and just leave but...  
"So... you wanna have sex with him again?"

  
Chris felt like he got hit by a train. Or a boulder. Maybe a train with a boulder in the front.  
His big eyes must have been answer enough because David just shrugged. "Using unspecified pronouns such as 'that person' and 'they' is pretty suspicious, John."

  
"I-..." "Whatever. I get it. You´re dating a dude, dude. Get over it and actually let me think about a solution here..."

  
Chris instantly shut up and watched him with big eyes while David just thought in silence. Kevin chose that moment to appear again but he just put the beer in front of him and went to the other side of the counter again, serving another customer.

  
"So, John, maybe..." "Guys!" It was Angela that suddenly stood behind Chris, her form almost disappearing between all the other people in the crowd. She took another step forward to get closer and Chris actually asked himself in worry how long she had already been standing in earshot.

  
"Angela. What´s up?"

  
"I need half a dozen beer and two shots of G & T for a table in the corner, pronto!"

  
David immediately turned away from Chris and gathered some glasses, preparing what the brunette had just asked from him. It left Chris sitting there with Angela right next to him. He still didn´t feel completely comfortable around her. He caught her sometimes, watching him. Just watching him in silence. Just what exactly did she want from him?!

  
To distract himself, Chris reached for his glass and took another small sip. He felt her watching him again.  
"John...", she stretched his name while speaking it, almost as if she knew... "So you have some troubles in your relati-..."

"There you go, Angela."

  
David just saved his life. Chris would be forever grateful.  
Angela shifted her green eyes from Chris over to David and the tray he was extending to her, the drinks all lined up neatly in order.

  
"... Thank you..."

  
She took it from him and left without sparing them another glance. This woman was just weird.  
"Back to you, John." Oh no...

  
"If you said that he just doesn´t want to sleep with you but... still lets you kiss him and all that, you should probably give him the time. It will have a reason." You don´t say. Chris already knew all of this! Another bit of his beer got forced down his throat in frustration.

  
"Try to talk with him about this. I know it could get embarrassing to ask him about why he doesn´t want it anymore. But you´ll never know otherwise."

  
Chris didn´t even stop this time with drinking until the empty beer glass hit the counter again. He was getting frustrated. So unbelievable frustrated. Not just that David´s advice sucked. No, now he even told him to run up to Piers and just ask him?! Sure... 'Why don´t you wanna bang anymore?'

  
David seemed to sense that Chris was getting pissed and wanted to be alone so he turned around to leave but Chris stopped him... just to ask for another drink, this time something stronger...

  
Another hour went by and it was as if Chris had forgotten about the fact that he was at work. His eyes still sometimes wandered around the crowd but he had gotten too drunk by now that he could have even made anything out even if he had tried.

  
Damn Piers... Was playing with his feelings like he wanted to...

  
In the beginning, Chris had really told himself to stop and that he was at work. But the moment he had one glass too many, he fell back into old habits. He remembered Edonia, he remembered his unhealthy habits with drinking even before that. And before he could stop himself, he was totally wasted. The only good thing about being used to having one too many, was that he had built up a high resistance by now. At least from the outside. Neither Kevin or David were seeing any traces of his state. No wobbling, no slur in his words. So they kept pouring. They were way too busy to notice or even count how many drinks he already had anyway.

  
Chris downed another shot of vodka. He didn´t even remember how many he had until now. He also forgot what he had been so mad about an hour ago. He just knew that he was mad. So unbelievable mad. He still was for some reason.

  
He just wanted to... punch something. Smash something against a wall... Just make someone-

  
"Stop it! Don´t TOUCH ME!"


	37. Hot Temper

  
Chris´ head whipped around in anger at the disturbance. Just like Kevin´s and David´s. They were wearing a little more concerned faces. Who the fuck had the nerve to yell around like that?!

  
Angela stood there at the other side of the room. Chris was barely able to recognize her between all the people. But the two huge guys to her left and right kinda made her fragile figure stand out.

  
Chris immediately understood what was going on with one of the dudes reaching for her cleavage while the other pressed her against the wall with his sheer build, blocking her escape route.   
The girl had said on her first day that she was very well able to handle herself but with two men double her build and size, Chris could understand that she needed help. Now.

  
Good. That was just what Chris needed.

  
The Ex-Captain stood in a second, even if a little wobbly, and steadily made his way over there, bumping into people by accident but not bothering to apologize.

  
"Hey, assholes!"

  
Their bald, big heads whipped over to him instantly at the name he had chosen for them in his drunken state. Maybe dumb and dumber would fit quite good as well.  
Angela´s eyes met him now too, big and surprised as if she was shocked. Wasn´t she grateful he just came for her damn rescue? He knew what he was doing, everything would be fine.

  
He thought that until one of them swung faster at him than he had expected. All his reactions didn´t get him anywhere as he tried to dodge but still lightly got hit on his cheek.

"Fuck off! This is a thing between us and her...!" His voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Terrible. Disgusting to the core.  
Chris needed a second to stop the world from spinning and both of them had already turned around to Angela again, thinking they had won this fight. Oh hell no.

  
Chris had his techniques so he just snorted and all his restraint went out the window as he raised his foot, carefully not to lose his balance, and kicked one of them hard into the backside of his knee, causing him to collapse immediately with a groan in pain.

  
The second one gasped just like Angela and was on Chris in the next second. "Bastard..!"  
Chris had his learned techniques but the dude in front of him sure had something else. Less alcohol in his blood. He dished out some punches, all aimed at Chris´ face but even in this condition, Chris dodged all of them. Just how slow were these dudes?

  
Chris managed to get a grip on his wrist the next time he tried to fling at him and Chris painfully twisted it before turning around in front of him and, with the momentum of the guy himself, threw him over himself, letting go midflight so he flew some distance. When he hit the ground, he cried out. Painfully.

  
People´s interest was awoken now and a big circle around them had formed. Chris almost felt a little proud like a teenage boy just having won a fight on the schoolyard.

  
The guy from the beginning, which he had sent flying first, stood right in front of him when Chris had turned around again to check on Angela. This time, however, Chris had no time anymore to avoid his painful lesson. Not the mention his head was still kinda swimming from the first fist to his cheek and the move he had just dished out.

  
When the meaty fist collided with his face, the lights went out on Chris for some seconds. It couldn´t have been more because when he was blinking, he was still standing and the bald guy swang his fist back again for a second punch.   
Chris already saw it rushing back to his face.

  
But his eyes went wide instead when Angela suddenly jumped onto the big guy´s back, yelling angry and wrapping her arms around his neck in a death grip while her knees repeatedly kicked into his back.  
"Leave him ALONE!"

  
Chris wasted no time, even if he could feel blood running down out of his nose now, and got right in there once more. While he was distracted, Chris once again tried to kick his legs from under him. When that didn´t work, just got the other to merely stumble, Chris send a hard haymaker to his stomach. That should knock him out cold.

  
Once again, luck didn´t seem to be on his side when his arm got ripped back just as he was about to swing. Chris saw the other guy from the corner of his eyes again and he looked like he was about to return the favor.

  
And that was the moment hell broke loose as just one bystander interfered and threw himself at the bald guy. Soon a second one followed, helping Angela with the first one. A third. A fourth. And then, just like that, Chris had triggered a bar fight.   
And if he said bar fight, he meant one. A big, loud mess of flying fists in which no one knew who was against who anymore. Not just fists were used. Weapons like chairs and bottles got used as well.

  
This went on several minutes while Chris managed to get out of there without taking too much damage and he pressed himself close to a wall, away from the riot in the middle. He watched it in horror. People were so aggressive it scared him. But it was 3 a.m., everyone was drunk. No one cared anymore.

  
"What the FUCK, JOHN?!" It felt like the blood stopped flowing through his veins when Mark´s voice reached him even through the ruckus. He was dead...

  
He turned towards the older man and he had Angela with him. Somehow she must have gotten out of there. A little scratch was on her cheek and her hair was a mess but otherwise, she looked uninjured.

  
The both of them came to stand in front of him, he had never seen Mark so utterly angry and just.... pissed.

  
"Before you say anything, I-"

  
"How the fuck did that happen?!"

  
Chris tried to explain but a guy was landing right in front of Mark´s feet, groaning in pain as he obviously just lost a fight with whoever he took on. Mark growled. "Nevermind! I´m calling the police and throw everyone out of here! ...I´m coming to you later!"

  
The older one leaned dangerously close into his face with a growl before turning on his heel and making his way over to the bar where David and Kevin were still staring at the violent display in front of them, unbelieving. Angela just briefly looked at him before following Mark.

  
Did he already mention that he was dead...?

 

  
\--------------

 

  
Half an hour and two police cars in the front of Rule G Nightclub later, the building was clean. It had taken a hell of a lot to do that, including half a dozen pissed and shouting police officer plus Mark (who was even scarier than any bad cop ever could). People had left voluntarily or got forced out which was slightly more painful, their choice.

  
Now Mark stood there in the middle of the room, talking with the officers and thanking them while Chris, Angela, David and Kevin had taken seats at one of the tables in the corner. Well, it was more like Mark had forced them to wait there and no one had dared to object.

  
Chris let his gaze wander over the others. They were all sitting here in line like guilty, little kids, himself included. He still couldn't believe what happened. But his intoxicated state still managed to keep the main worry away from him. He could go for another beer right now, that were about all his problems right now, he felt like.

  
Chris snorted mentally. He couldn't wait ´till this shit thing was over with here, he was already way too long on work anyways. He should have been home by now. Home. Where Piers was. Chris entertained himself with the thought for a moment how he would come home and Piers would wait for him like always and this time... he´d actually let Chris get some action. Damn... Chris was also really in the mood for some sex...

  
The officers seemed to make their way out of the room now towards the exit. You could practically feel the tension rise, the moment they were out and Mark´s head snapped over to them. Shit...

  
His steps were loud against the linoleum floor. Sounded even louder than a bunch of drunken teenagers jumping around here... or maybe Chris´ screaming head just made it appear that way.

  
"Angela!" His hands collided with the table and the woman flinched at the sudden shout. Just like everyone else. "What happened?! I wanna hear it from you!", Mark yelled but his eyes didn´t lay on the one person he was talking to, they were laying on the dance floor, covered in a huge mess of glass shards, wooden parts and ripped-off fabric.

  
Chris almost felt insulted that he wasn´t asked but Mark probably didn´t think of him capable of doing that anymore.   
"Yes, sir!" Angela almost saluted out of habit but could stop herself from doing it.

  
"I was waiting a few tables in the far end corner over there!" She pointed in the general direction. "I wanted to go to the next one and was already half over when two huge men were on either side of me. I asked them to take a step to the side so I could pass but then they had already pressed me to the wall... I tried to struggle but didn´t come that far. Suddenly, there was John, helping me out...", she came to an end, sinking her head in shame.

  
Mark threw a quick glance over to Chris but spared him no word otherwise.

  
"Who landed the first punch?", Mark asked, now calm and collected as if he knew how important that question was, pronouncing every word carefully.   
And Angela took her time. Chris looked up in shock after the first few seconds of silence. She should remember that, right?! Come on, Angela! Don´t play stupid now, this is important!

"...It was John... John punched him first..."

  
"What?!", Chris burst out without missing a beat, pressing himself up from his seat, growling and snorting in anger at the younger woman so she backed off another few inches. "She´s lying! I didn´t fucking punch anyone!"

  
Angela was definitely lying. Yes, he had insulted them but he was the first with a fist in his face. But why was she lying?! Chris didn´t understand anything. He didn´t think he would have even if sober.

  
"You obviously did!", Mark roared back just as loud. An unexplainable rage picked up in Chris and he knew he would have to keep himself calm if he didn´t want the drunken rage to take over this conversation. It wouldn´t use words...

  
"Look, John... You´re totally drunk and... you caused the whole bar go to hell because you started a fight! Do you wanna say that´s a lie too?!" Chris couldn't answer. Not that Mark gave him the time.

  
"See?! So who says you weren´t the one who slipped his hand first?! Maybe you yourself don´t even remember anymore!"  
Chris looked over to Kevin and David in desperation, looking for help, wanting them to help. But they didn´t look like they would speak up. Maybe it was better. They would just say that he was drinking a lot as well. In that moment, he felt like all of them were working against him. His eyes found Angela but her´s not his. She didn´t dare to look up. Why were you lying...?

  
No one said a word now, and even Mark just waited for Chris to answer. When Chris did, it probably wasn´t what he had expected. "I quit."

  
"What...?" Even Angela´s green orbs jumped up again while Mark, David and Kevin just watched him in disbelief.   
If Chris would have been in his right mind he would have thought this through. But like this, just the frustration filled his mind. He tried to help. Maybe his methods were not right but it was the only thing he knew how to do in that moment and now everyone was just an asshole to him. And Angela. He just felt betrayed and ashamed and never wanted to see these people again in his life.

  
"J-John. Did you think this through?!" Suddenly Mark pretended to be so nice, it made Chris sick to the stomach. Didn´t help his struggle to keep his stomach acid inside at all. He´d make it until home, he swore to himself though. "I know... you need the money..."

  
"Fuck the money!" Chris never bothered sitting down again, his palms still firmly pressed against the surface of the table.   
"You!" His index finger slid out to David and Kevin. "You´re just two fags who´d like to suck each other´s dicks but don´t have the actual balls to do it in the first place!", the drunk veteran spat all of his venom, ignoring the fact that he unintentionally insulted himself with that statement as well. Maybe he didn´t even bother to recognize. But it wasn´t just the two. Not just them. They would all get it.

  
Next, his finger traveled over to Angela. "And you! You are the creepiest, fucked-up, little lair on this planet. You know I didn´t do it! You were there! But maybe you just planned this. After all, you think I don´t notice how you stare me into the ground?! Thinkin´ I don´t see it?! Fucking bitch!", he spat out the last words before long, his gaze reached Mark.   
Mark´s hard eyes squinted, sending warning glances over to Chris to not do it. Do not do it. If you do it, your job is gone for good. Last chance, last warning.

  
Chris never cared for authority.

  
"You think you´re so great, ey?! Let me tell you something. You´re not! You´re just a big prick who likes to play sentimental daddy just to kick one's ass again in the next second like you please! You don´t care! No one of you does!", he growled loud and turned his head to look at the rest of the group again. They all watched right back with big, shocked eyes.

  
And as the silence filled the room now, Chris felt his own rage and temperature dropping as well, his body relaxing now after his outburst. But no feeling of regrets settled in. He was too tired for that, his mind still not progressing or even understanding the consequences yet. Not even when Mark clawed his finger´s into the edge of the table and raised his voice like his body that leaned closer to Chris, growling.

  
"And here I was, trying to help you, make things easy on you..." His words were too careful, too silent. So Chris wasn´t surprised when he started shouting. "And now... get the fuck out of MY BAR! And DON´T FUCKING COME BACK!"

  
Chris spun on his heels and exited the club fast, too afraid that he´d snap and get violent if discussing any further with Mark. The veteran never looked back once.


	38. To Risk It All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I´m deeply sorry for not updating in... what has it been, two weeks?   
> But a lot of things happened, I had to move for a reason, that brings with it that I had to apply for a new job. 
> 
> I got it and thought that I was super fortunate to find work so soon, but apparently, there is a reason no one but me wants to work there. I work in a team with just women and, even if I never had a problem with that before, everyone there is just constantly pissed, gets paid shit and likes to take out their anger on other people.
> 
> So besides having to worry about my new flat and moving, I also have to put up with these people hating my guts and making sure I feel it just for being new. And the most fun part about it is, that they actually managed to bring back my depression that left me alone for two full years so... I got that going on .u.
> 
> I really don´t know if it´s affecting my writing, I´m sorry if it does, but I´m just glad when I manage to write something at all lately~

They were living closer now, causing Chris to not have to take the bus anymore but being able to walk home. Just when he arrived at their apartment complex and Chris began climbing the stairs up, did he realize the finality of the situation.

  
He had just quit his job... hadn´t he?  
The one they both needed so desperately?

  
Well, fuck.

  
He sighed as his head slightly felt clearer by now. He could have used that an hour ago... The night air had probably done some good on him and Chris noticed how late it already was as he fumbled for his keys to unlock the door. It was well after 5 a.m. by now. He was long home by now, usually.

  
The moment he opened the door and let it slide shut behind him, the sound of bare feet slapping on the wooden floor resounded as Piers sneaked around the corner. "Chris...? You´re quite la-... Oh my god, your face...!"

  
The moment Chris reached for the light switch and turned it on, Piers gasped. What was with his face? For a moment, Chris was confused before remembering his bloody nose. Damn, he didn´t even take care of it until now, he had run around the street like that. Sure, no one was outside but still.

  
Piers hurried over to him now but his steps faltered when he came closer. The kid could probably smell the alcohol all over him. "Are... are you drunk...?"

  
Chris was torn between the truth and a lie. Not that Piers didn´t already know the answer so Chris just shrugged while his eyes found the floor. Talk about better times coming towards them... He had just ruined everything. For the both of them. And Piers was still so loving to even set an alarm around the time when he comes home. Otherwise, Chris couldn't even explain how the sniper was always awake when Chris opened the door.

  
Piers´ hands reached out for his face now.

  
"What happened? Tell me..." When they made contact, Chris flinched briefly before leaning into the warm touch. It felt so good when you came from the cold outside. The older one closed his eyes for a second before opening them again, settling on Piers´ face. His boyfriend was so pretty, he once again had to realize. And these scars changed nothing about that. If anything, they still made Chris feel flattered to the core, knowing what Piers was ready to sacrifice for his wellbeing.

  
Chris brought his hands up, laying them on top of Piers´ before he slowly headed for the kitchen, dragging Piers with him in this awkward position. "Chris..."

  
Halfway over there, Piers seemed to have understood what Chris wanted from him and carefully pushed him down on one of the chairs before reaching for a roll of paper towels. He ripped off one piece and got it a little wet in the sink before turning towards Chris and sitting opposite to him. "Alright... you wanna talk to me now...?"

  
Piers brought the paper towel to his face, aiming to wipe the blood away. Chris knew he shouldn´t think about it, but... he was craving for more of Piers´ touches...

  
"Well... things were really bad today..."

  
"No shit, I figured."

  
Chris growled lightly and dropped his eyes briefly. Piers had always such a big mouth. He´d know how to stuff it...

  
"There... was a fight in the bar. A big one. And... I wasn´t able to de-conflict it."

  
"A fight?" Piers´ beautiful eyes jumped up from his nose where he removed most of the blood now. He understood that that could happen in a club like Rule G. But... that didn´t explain everything. Maybe Chris´ bleeding nose but not his stench...

  
"How... did that happen...?"

  
"Well... Angela got molested by a bunch of creepers. You know, with the short dress Mark put her in and all... I tried to get in there and... help her." Chris still didn´t know how he should explain to Piers that he´d have to go looking for another job.                                                                                                                                                                                                 

"One of the dudes had none of it and went right for the first punch..."

 

"I see..." Piers had now removed all of the red, partly dried liquid off Chris´ face, throwing the paper towel into the trash bin before returning to his prior seat and leaning onto the table with that look in his eyes that took no bullshit. Somehow, Chris had the feeling the bad part was just starting. "So... let me get this straight. Two, weird assholes going for Angela, you going in there and getting your nose bruised... That all?" The way Piers was putting up the question, he knew it wasn´t.

"No... not at all... There´s more to it, Piers."

  
Said one nodded once, clearly, making Chris understand just how well Piers already figured that out. "Go ahead."

  
Chris would like to! But... how to tell him that? Their whole existence was depending on that job. In the end, he just sighed and made their eyes meet again. There was no point in staying silent any longer. It wouldn't change anything.

  
"Mark threw me out."

  
"What?!" This time it was Chris who had to flinch in fear of the loud voice. Sure, Chris could get scary. Especially if drunk. But Piers...

  
He tried to bring out a word but Piers´ palms collided with the table. A sound Chris got to hear quite a lot tonight. When he looked up, there was a tiny blue sparkle in Piers´ right eye and it scared Chris almost more than the loud outbreak of his lover.

  
"Threw you out?! Why? Is it... because of the alcohol?! Does your smell have something to do with this all?!" Piers wasn´t stupid. He´d always been bright like a light.

  
The only way Chris knew how to counter such a behavior in his still intoxicated state was, with the same aggressivity. His voice raised as well. "Fuck yes! I got drunk!"

  
The response was immediate when Piers was on his feet in the next second, grabbing Chris by his collar and pulling him up as well. That was the scariest part. Chris knew Piers wouldn't be so effortless about lifting his whole weight just like that. Usually. But he had seen what the virus did. That thing could certainly pull this off without problems. But Piers... was clean right now! Sure, a glint in his eyes but... no electricity or change in voice! What was going on...? "The fuck?! Why?! Don´t you know how you get when drinking?!"

  
Chris struggled against the grip on his clothing but grunted and stopped trying really soon. "I do! So what, I got a little aggressive! And then, Angela, that bitch, said to Mark that I started it! Started that fight. And that prick just throws me out...!"

  
Skillfully, Chris dodged that first question. He couldn´t tell Piers why he even started drinking in the first place...

  
"I don´t care what she said! If you wouldn´t have wasted yourself, she probably wouldn´t even had to lie! Goddamit, no fight would have taken place, probably!"

  
For a long moment, both of them just stared at each other, that growl coming lighty from both of them. Piers didn´t look like he´d back down and Chris felt like his pride was deeply hurt. He´d teach Piers a thing or two...!

  
Both hands of the veteran reached up, going for both of Piers´resting on his collar as he took a tight grip on them and basically yanked them off of him, too fast for the younger one to put up much resistance. "The reason?! You want the reason I sat there like an idiot, whining about my life above a filled glass?!"

  
Piers just nodded, his gaze not shying away. And before he knew much more, Chris had taken another step forward, making their chests bump together as Chris just continued to push him backwards before Piers felt the kitchen counter in his back. Chris´ arms fell on the counter left and right from him. He had nowhere to go as Chris leaned dangerously close.  
"The reason is that you obviously act like a bitch about me wanting to spread your legs like one!"

  
Piers blinked in confusion the moment these words left his lover. And it seemed like his whole aggressiveness vanished alongside it. "Ex-Excuse me, what...?"

  
Chris, however, didn´t seem to have such an easy time calming down. His voice was still filled with a growl. "You didn´t notice it?! Me trying to get you to pay some attention to me?! No, instead you push me away every single time! God, I´d like sex, Piers!" David told him to ask Piers directly about it, didn't he?!

It shouldn´t be something any of the two should be embarrassed about. That was the thing Piers told himself right now. It was normal. Sex in a relationship. It was normal Chris wanted that from him. Just like Piers as well for some time now. But... there was a reason he couldn´t let them do it...

  
Piers´ eyes found the floor and he just mumbled 'Sorry...'. He tried to push past Chris to flee that uncomfortable, awkward situation but Chris just wouldn't let him.


	39. With You, For Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for not uploading as I scheduled but yeah...  
> Additional to me not feeling that amazing lately, this one is also pretty long, just because, well... it belongs together. I figured I can´t cut this somewhere.
> 
> Sorry if I might spoil someone right now but this chapter contains Bottom!Chris, just so you know~

"What is wrong with you?!" The older one pressed him right back against the counter, one hand on Piers´ shoulder, the other on his cheek, holding him in place as Chris forcefully pressed a passionate kiss to the sniper´s lips.

  
Piers never stopped struggling until his hands found Chris´ chest, pushing him away with that inhuman strength again...

  
"What is wrong?! It´s the virus, dammit! Lately, I feel it bubbling so close to the surface. It... just wants to come out by now and... I know it will... if we do that...!" Horrible images of himself murdering Chris brutally while lovemaking entered Piers´ mind. He knew how easily these could come to life. They had found out first hand how seriously they should take the beast inside.

  
Finally, Piers´ words got Chris to slow down and hesitate. "The... virus...?"

  
It dawned on Chris that he was right, when he had thought that he knew so less about Piers´ inner feelings lately. After their make-up, they talked again but... Piers never said anything about these fears. He should have told him. "It´s picking up again?"

  
Piers sighed and turned his head away. "Yeah... but not always. It´s calm most of the time and I think... it maybe even accepted the way it is now. But sometimes... if I think about... certain things, it roars up like a flame, screaming at me to 'get it'..."

  
Chris wasn´t too sure if they were still talking about intercourse or not. With the way Piers had been phrasing this, probably. Piers was dying of desire just like Chris himself but the fear of the virus made Piers push back his own needs in order to keep Chris safe.

  
"You think it would snap?", Chris asked with the softest voice he could manage as he took a step forward again, once more trapping Piers between the counter and a wall of muscle. Piers let him this time.  
"I can´t say for sure what it would do... But it wouldn't stay silent anymore..."

  
Eyes met and stayed at each other for some long moments.  
Piers just wanted. It had hurt him deeply to keep pushing the other one away for the last few days. It had simply been too long for the sniper as well. The thought of Chris and sleeping with him again was alluring. But he had to keep Chris at arm´s length. He simply had no idea what could happen. The virus was too unpredictable and screaming at the back of his head to let go a little. To let it gain control. Even now, with Chris so close and breathing into his face, so easy to kiss, he could hear the silent whisper to lean forward and just... take what´s yours. Ours.

  
"I don´t wanna hurt you!", the younger one managed, once more wanting to prove his point how dangerous this was.  
But just not sleeping with each other was not an option either. It would just make things worse before something horrible would follow. Chris didn´t know what that would be but he sure wouldn´t let a thought be wasted on that. Because he wouldn´t let it come that far. Virus or not. He was turned on. And he wouldn´t let a bit of savage mutation in Piers´ blood control his sex and love life.

  
He would get Piers laid. One way or another.  
Snorting, Chris ignored all of Piers´ quiet protests and leaned in, silencing his lover immediately. Against all prior warnings, Piers barely hesitated a moment before leaning right in there, with hands tangling in Chris´ shirt and lips barely touching as Piers poked out his tongue against Chris´ lips. For a moment, Chris was surprised, the kid had really changed his mind fast.  
Then it dawned on him when Piers slightly opened his eyes and blue shone right back at the older one. Piers was already gone. He hadn´t exaggerated when he said he lost control fast these days...

  
For a moment, Chris panicked, tried to get away from Piers but hands in his shirt held him back with no escape for him. Chris didn´t forget how the last encounter with these eyes ended for him. With a bullet to the shoulder.  
If he was honest he really didn´t think Piers had said the truth. Maybe to some extent. But he had truly thought they would just get to it with no interruption and he could have shown Piers that he was fine, okay and healthy. Maybe, in the end, he had pushed too much, too needily.

  
The veteran yelped when these hands yanked him back, right back towards Piers´ smirking face. The other pulled until their foreheads rested against each other... lovingly? Chris waited in anxiety, his eyes finding blue orbs that made the blood in his veins freeze of fear. But it was still different than before. There was no electricity, nothing. No hostile behavior.  
Chris didn´t know what to think or to feel. "Are you... still you...?"  
A chuckle left these lips and it was Piers´ voice. Clearly. Chris didn´t know if that already relieved him enough. The virus had pulled off Piers´ voice before. Right before Chris had to suffer from the attack that followed.

  
"Partly." The answer was shot and didn´t satisfy Chris in the slightest.

  
"Define partly!"

  
"I´m very much me, Chrissy. Still... I can´t shake the feeling that maybe... I do wanna hurt you after all..."

  
"What?!" Suddenly, Chris really didn´t feel like some sexy time anymore. Not at all. He tried to push himself away from Piers but it had little to no effect besides causing Piers to grin wider with each passing second.

  
"Oh, come one! You wanted sex, I can give you sex!"

  
"Not like this!" But before Chris had the chance to complain any further, Piers had already switched their positions, urging Chris against the counter and forcing the cold surface into his back. What was happening?!  
Piers´ lips found his again, impatient and hot. Chris screwed his eyes shut as he couldn´t deny the fear beginning to battle with the occurring pleasure surging through him.

  
"Don´t worry too much...", he felt being whispered against his hot lips. "I´m still me, Chris! Like I said, it... adapted. It´s just that... I would really like it rough..."  
Really like it rough...

  
Chris felt his eyes sliding shut by themselves and a quiet groan escaped him. He couldn't deny the fact that the growing desire inside did things to him. Piers´ short explanation actually did already quite some good in calming Chris down. If Piers... thought they were safe and he knew the boundaries... Hadn´t Chris been the one pushing him?

  
"You wanna back out?~" Piers always knew what to say to get him.

  
"Hell no."

  
And that was about everything they still needed to say before they were a mess of roaming hands and slurping tongues again. A few moments passed like this and Chris knew he needed that bit of foreplay to get back in the mood after Piers had given him that shock. Damn, was the veteran still a little anxious but he trusted Piers enough. With his life. He knew how literally these words could get taken. After all, C wouldn´t hesitate to do just that, take his life. But Piers could keep it down, Chris was sure of it.

  
Chris´ roaming hands traveled over Piers´ body, slow and sensual, until they just settled with grabbing the rim of Piers´ shirt he had been sleeping in. It was one of Chris´, way too big for Piers to wear it out on the street. He did it quite often, sleeping in Chris´ clothing. The sniper once said that the smell calmed him.  
Chris never told him but it was a huge turn on for him.

  
Willing the thought away since it was totally unnecessary, Chris finally yanked the shirt over Piers´ head after the younger one had impatiently wiggled around, telling him to just take it off.

  
They stopped kissing for a moment as Chris let the shirt fall to the floor, their faces so close still, that Chris could feel the sniper´s breath. He ripped his eyes away from these full, kissable lips and let their gazes meet. The blue in these eyes still lightly creeped him out. Maybe scared him to some extent. Chris didn´t like to admit it but the thrilling danger together with his turned-on state made things really interesting in his head. "Piers..."

  
Suddenly he felt Piers fumbling with his belt, obviously tired of waiting and foreplay. Their eye contact never broke, though, as Piers´ skilled fingers made fast work, opening his belt in a few swift movements. Even as Piers reached for the buttons of his pants, undoing them and causing his pants to hit the floor, did Chris not look away from Piers´ face.  
Eventually, he had to as the veteran stepped out of his pants and kicked them to the side.

  
Piers was so handsome in front of him, just in his pajama boxers. His hair was a mess by now, Chris´ hands had ruined them earlier. It gave him an even wilder look and Chris didn´t think he was ever that hot for the other before. Nah, what was he saying? He was always hot for him.  
"You´re so beautiful..."

  
Piers wasn´t much into talking today, apparently, as he stepped forwards again. Chris got the hints and smirked, his hands already on Piers´ chest, prodding and exploring flesh anew that he had so many times under his fingers already.  
Piers was still muscular. Chris was grateful even if he didn´t fully understand. Piers wasn´t working out anymore or even went out much. Maybe it were good genes.

  
His rough fingertips followed the contours of ribs and abs and... scars. Piers didn´t mind anymore. He stopped for some time now.

  
The sniper had occupied himself for quite a while with Chris´ neck. Licking, kissing, sometimes even lapping at him violently like some kind of animal. Tasting, while his fingertips drilled into Chris´ shoulders.

  
"Hhn..." Chris reminded himself to keep his eyes open and reduce his horny panting to a minimum. But it´s just been so long. Instead, he urged his hands to go lower, running over Piers´ waist around to his back and eventually his buttocks. Huge palms came to get a good grip on the two globes there. Piers´ ass had always fitted so nicely into his hands.  
Chris used his grip on the younger one, to press him closer, their bodies flush together. He was rewarded with Piers groaning against his skin as the hotness of their erections met through the fabric.

  
They were both hard and totally ready for this. So Chris didn't want to waste any more time and, after some kneading of this perfect ass beneath his palms, Chris let go of Piers just to shove down his hands the back of Piers´ boxers a second later, this time touching bare skin.

  
He couldn´t wait to fuck this perfect, muscular-  
"Wh...?"

  
Piers obviously seemed to have other plans as he took a step back, causing Chris´ hands to slip out of his briefs and hang limply in the air. Everything happened so fast, though, as Piers grabbed the older one by the wrists and managed to spin him around in Chris´ surprise, securing his wrists behind his back and pressing him to the counter like Chris had done with his lover before. Just that his front was pressed against it, and he was totally immobilized.

  
"P-Piers...! What are you...", the older one growled and tried to wind out of his lover´s grip without real effort.  
"This is about control, Chris. Sadly you won´t have any in this..."

  
It dawned on Chris rather fast how Piers meant that. Which also got him nervous at the same time, since... you see, he never bottomed for Piers before. In their few weeks of relationship, it had always been Piers who totally submitted to the older one.  
But Chris wasn´t that simpleminded. He knew that would have to come eventually and it would be a lie if he´d say he never thought about it before. Because he did. Thought about how it would feel because before Piers the option to sleep with a man had never been there, to begin with. He would go in this without any clue what to do.  
And the fact that the first time Piers decided to top him was also a moment he was letting the virus out, did not put Chris at ease.

  
"Is... Is this really necessary, Piers...?!"

  
He didn´t get an answer as Piers shifted both his wrist in just one hand, still no problem subduing him, and his right one started playing with his waistband. Chris haltered in his struggling. "..."  
The older one could hear his own breathing and the bumping of his heart in his ears. He stared dead ahead on the wall in front of him, briefly, before his eyes fell on his white shirt that he was still wearing and likely would until the end of it. There wasn´t much he could do now anyway.

  
The hand slipped inside without any warning.

  
Piers´ hands had never been so close to his ass before and Chris at first didn´t really know how to feel with these long fingers running over the bare skin of his lower backside.  
In the end, Chris decided to just go with it, close his eyes and hope to any God that was out there that Piers knew what he was doing.

  
Chris didn´t need to wait for long. Piers´ palm pressed itself tightly against him, squeezing, kneading the soft flesh beneath while he felt the fingers stretching, pushing forward and slipping in between his cheeks. Chris frowned and pressed his eyelids tightly together. This was weird.

  
It only got weirder from there on out for the veteran. Piers curled his index finger up, the tip of it brushing against that ring of muscles that never was touched like that before. First, it just circled him, gently, not even using much pressure. Piers did that for a small while and Chris felt lost as what to make out of that. Did it feel good? Did it just feel weird? A mixture of both perhaps?

  
Chris was about to say something, moan Piers´ name, anything to cover his hard and needy breathing. It never got to that when the motion of the sniper on his entrance stopped and he suddenly pushed in. Shamelessly fast and almost casual. Holding back a small, almost whimpery sound just wasn´t possible for Chris.

  
Piers moved, slow for a moment, then not so slow anymore. It was the exact same thing Chris would do with him when they had sex. Now Chris found himself on the receiving end.

  
"Piers..." The first few seconds were almost painfully dry and tight. Chris just wasn´t used to this. To none of that. Letting go of control and giving it to Piers. He tried to shake his hands free once more and was surprised when Piers let him this time. The motion inside him stopped but Piers didn´t pull out, just let go of his hands. Chris hesitated before his palms found the counter in from of him for support. He thought about pushing himself away, away from the counter, away from Piers before he realized, this was a test.

  
Piers let go of him because he gave him a choice. In the beginning, he just held him down to show him a little what he was in store for. Now that he did, he was letting Chris decide. Decide if he liked it and still wanted to continue or if Chris wasn´t into it and allowing him the power to end this all now.

  
Piers wasn´t using words but he still asked him for permission. That was the last little hint Chris needed. Chris could say right now that he didn´t want it in the ass, Piers would say 'Okay' and let him go. That made it rather easy to decide.

  
"C-Continue moving...!"

  
Chris was surprised how broken his own voice was already sounding. As if he already got fucked. Well, in a way he was getting that right now but... not really.  
Suddenly, Chris felt incredibly hot for all this, especially when Piers complied and this time, slowly and gently pushed in and out, rubbing silky, inner walls while doing so. Images of himself getting it hard from Piers filled Chris´ mind. That... couldn´t be a bad thing at all.

  
"Hmm~ My pleasure...", the older one heard Piers humming in delight behind him.

  
Chris closed his eyes again and tried to relax. The stretching feeling southern seemed to reduce the more he loosened up. Of course, Chris knew that before. It was just hard to stay relaxed in the first place when everything was so... new. And Chris thought he knew everything about sex. Well, Piers was about to teach him some more.

  
"Ahh...~" The older one didn´t manage to bite his lips in time to hold back a loud and hot moan. The sensation inside wasn´t that bad. Not bad at all. Piers´ finger slid in and out relentlessly, never stopping or slowing down. There was no pain anymore like shortly in the beginning. It rubbed and prodded at all the right places, sending tingles down Chris´ spine.  
Piers reacted to that, pressing himself even closer from behind, his chest meeting Chris´ back and his skin was just so hot, even through the fabric of his shirt. Chris could feel a weight on his shoulder now, Piers´ head, warm breath hitting his neck together with the sweet sounds of aroused breathing. Piers was enjoying this just as much as Chris was.

  
Suddenly Piers stopped in his movements and Chris was about to protest before it got shoved in forcefully again and he cried out in pleasure. He had felt that. He had felt that good.

  
The digit stayed there for a moment, buried in Chris as deep as Piers could reach, up to the hilt. He made no move to pull it out again and suddenly it rubbed. Feeling all around and just rubbing with much pressure against the warm channel.  
Chris knew his prostate would have to be there somewhere and judging how Piers always lost his shit when he found it, Chris couldn´t wait until Piers would find his. Chris turned his head lightly, finding Piers on his shoulder and the other was wearing that smug grin. Chris didn´t even care at the moment and just pressed his lips against Piers´.

  
One, two seconds passed by and Piers´ finger shifted a little more. This time it found the right spot and Chris ripped his lips off Piers immediately and gave one long, loud moan, the loudest and horniest ever since they started this. Piers instantly seemed to understand and pressed his finger right against it, moving and literally massaging into it.  
Chris threw his head back, closed his eyes tightly and just enjoyed.

  
This was good. Hell, this made Chris want to just cut all of that and getting fucked by Piers even more. The feeling was hot, made his loins burn with unsatisfied desire. Chris´ body acted by itself, pressing down on Piers needily, his hips moving on their own accord.

  
"Well... you´re enjoying this, don´t you? I can relate, believe me. How about I give you a little more?"  
Chris instantly nodded. Eagerly.

  
He himself couldn´t believe it. A moment ago he was ready to just walk out on Pieris. Just a small little touch at the right spot on his inside and now he wanted it bad, sparkling with need.

  
An amused snort caught his ears but right now Chris couldn´t care less how much of an ego boost this was giving Piers´ cocky attitude. He just cared about that second finger prodding at his entrance now, barely a second later joining it´s companion inside.

  
The stretching sensation picked up again briefly but it was way fainter than before. So when Piers moved again, Chris barely felt anything but the digits. They brushed over his sweet spot here and there, getting slower when they did, so Chris knew Piers was trying to give him as much pleasure as possible on purpose. Bless this man. Let him say yes the day Chris decided to ask him for marriage.

  
Piers, on the other side, grew impatient and it was obvious in how his thrusts into Chris turned more erratic and maybe even harder, almost violent. Not that he was expecting Chris to complain judging from his moaning and mewling in pleasure.  
He just wanted to see Chris come undone, completely destroyed once he was done with him. He would fuck him, right here against the kitchen counter, no matter how unhygienic that was or whatever. He didn´t give a damn. He just needed to... dominate Chris for once. Show him how good it was and how he had been missing out.

  
He had missed sex in general. But he had been too scared. In the end, he was glad Chris pushed him a little to it. The virus... was silent for now, even if Piers could feel the slightly risen level of aggressiveness inside. Even if he gave Chris the choice two minutes ago, if he would have said no now, after... this, Piers probably wouldn´t have granted him any mercy anymore. Mind made up and all.

  
Closing his eyes, Piers listened to his lover´s sounds for a while, getting lost in it and just pleasuring him. But the point came in which Piers thought of Chris as enough prepared and he just pulled out, leaving Chris without the touch deep inside.  
"H-Hey..." Said one was about to complain but stopped himself. He knew it would continue from here on out. He would just have to stop being so desperate and show some patience instead.

  
And as if on cue, he felt Piers grabbing the rim of his boxers and finally, thank goodness, tugged them down harshly, the cold air immediately hitting the hot skin of Chris´ behind and erection so it drew another small moan from him. Piers pushed them down a little more until they had no leverage anymore and fell down the rest of his legs by themselves, resting around his ankles on the cold kitchen floor.

  
Chris gasped and panted, his hands clawing down into the unforgiving surface of the counter in from of him. He didn´t remember ever feeling so needy. Chris shifted a little impatient in his position and was rewarded with his twitching length making contact with the counter. In the first moment, it was cold and unpleasant but Chris was happy about every bit of friction he could get right now.

  
Two warm hands came to lie on his ass and Chris bit his lips. They stayed there for only a second before pushing up his white shirt a little, exposing more of his broad back.  
"I dreamed about having your ass like this, you know..."

  
Fingernails dragged over his skin, all the way down to his cheeks again and Chris´ eyes grew a little wider in surprise.  
"Kinda glad I´ll be the first one and the only one to ever do this..."

  
Suddenly behind him, Piers dropped to his knees. Briefly, Chris panicked and tried to shift his head a little to see. Did something just happen to Piers? What if the virus...? For Chris, the only logical reason why that just happened was, that something wasn´t alright with the other.

  
"Piers?! Are you-?" But before Chris could continue, Piers proved him wrong.

  
These hands were on his globes again in a heartbeat and suddenly everything happened so fast when Piers spread his cheeks wide, making Chris feel awfully exposed. What was he even-?

  
Hot breath hit him, right down there and Chris gasped in shock. He thought he began to understand now. The idea seemed kinda foreign to Chris. But he had already done it to some women once. Of course not right there but... elsewhere. So the concept of 'eating out' wasn´t new to Chris. He had just never thought he´d receive it, ever.

  
But, if he thought about it straight, there wasn´t anything weird about it. If anything he should lay back and feel honored that Piers even wanted to do that for him. So Chris took a deep breath, leaned even further forward, so he supported himself on his forearms and pushed out his ass. Hopefully, that would make things easier on Piers. Hopefully, this would be just as nice as Chris already imagined it.

  
Teasingly, Piers squeezed his ass in his palms and just continued to breathe against the puckered hole, Chris already being able to feel Piers´ nose on his taint. Damn it...  
"J-Just lick it if you´re already down there!"

  
And with that Piers immediately followed the received command, leaning forward, and latching his lips onto his lover on that intimate spot.

  
Instantly, the moment he felt Piers burying his face in between his ass, Chris moaned. The veteran leaned his head on his arms, hoping to drown out some sounds but at the same time not really caring if they would wake up all their neighbors. If they could wait with bothering after this, then Chris would be glad to scream out all his pleasure tonight and get the blame.

  
"P-Piers!"

  
The younger one waited a long moment, just motionless pressing his lips to the other pair of lips, probably waiting for Chris to not be so overwhelmed anymore. When the moans slowly subsided, died off in a mess of pants, Piers dared to move. First just his lips, carefully and slow. Then his tongue pushed itself out, hesitantly making contact with the delicate skin around his anus.

  
Chris moaned his name once more and it was almost enough for Piers to see red. But he´d have to be patient a little while longer. Still, that had fired him up incredibly and the sniper leaned even more in, his finger having a tight grip left and right from his head on Chris.

  
His tongue gave the first lick, it was careful, almost shy. But Piers was fast to speed up the pace, after just a few moments already drawing circles around him, like his finger had done before.

  
"Oh god..."

  
It didn´t taste weird at all like one might think. It just had something sweet and a note that was just Chris all together, to it. Piers loved it.

  
Listening to his partner´s bliss, Piers started to lap at Chris like some kind of animal, greedy, feral, pressing his tongue against him and licking over and over again. Shifting his head in between to get every angle and every little bump.  
Chris, in front of him, shuddered with desire. Piers was literally eating him out.

  
And that was what he thought before Piers decided to push his tongue inside.

  
"Ahh..."

  
Chris had no idea that it could feel like this. Hot and lewd and sinful. But still completely right. Desperately, he continued to have a tight hold on the edge of the counter, screwing his eyes shut and baring his teeth.  
Piers moaned into him at that same time as his tongue hit the deepest spot it could reach and wiggled around curiously. A brief moment it stayed there before the sniper pulled back just to force it in again, starting to slowly establish a rhythm and fuck into Chris with just that.

  
It was new for Piers as well, never having done this before. But he was more than just willing to taste every bit of skin on this muscular body or God help him, he´d kneel over and die.

  
And Chris was reacting so well to it. It got Piers curious wherever or not Chris would do it to him another time if he´d ask.  
A stinging, unbelievable impatient feeling started to evolve in his guts and Piers once more felt the need to hurry. Convinced by it, he pulled his tongue out by just a bit and gifted Chris with a few seconds of his teeth joining the fun, carefully and gently nagging and scratching at his quivering orifice. The moment Chris moaned loudly was also the same moment Piers pulled away eventually and left Chris cold in his approaching release. The younger one pushed to his feet.

  
"Piers..."

  
Chris was begging for it. He was the one this time. Hearing such new sounds from the older one got Piers reaching for his briefs without a second thought. He had been so painfully hard for a long time.  
He wouldn´t stop for anything anymore. The virus told him so. He himself told him so as the last piece of clothing on Piers hit the floor seconds after.

  
His member stood erect and hot. The view was more than nice, so how could he not be completely turned on when Chris stood there in front of him, his lower half completely exposed, ready for the taking.

  
His panting was just as fast and hard as Chris´ and the sound just got silenced for a second when Pers spat into his hand, guiding it to his throbbing cock after, rubbing it all over the length as some kind of improvised lubricant.

  
Chris had never received before. And despite all the preparation, there was no way around it being slightly uncomfortable in the beginning for the veteran. But that was the point. He could reduce it from painful to 'just' uncomfortable.  
Chris writhed around in front of him. Squirming and nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot and against the counter, then back. He wanted it. He wanted it from Piers.

  
And Chris had to admit that he felt almost scared. More so than he remembered being since not working for the BSAA anymore. In a way, he could compare it to when he was younger. He felt like a teenager just doing something incredibly naughty. Something he shouldn't do. Damn, he felt like back in school, the night with his first girl. Just that this time, roles were more or less reversed.

  
"Chris..." It was the first thing he could hear from Piers in a while and the older one tried to turn his neck a bit, look over his shoulder but Piers was right behind him then, pressing against his body from behind, blocking his view and giving him a good impression of what was pressing against his ass right now, just by the feeling. He felt a face in the crook of his neck, gently kissing and earning one or two low moans from the veteran. Skilled hands snaked their way around Chris´ frame, for a moment just lovingly holding him in place. "Don´t worry, okay?... There is no way I´d ever hurt you..."

  
The statement in itself was a lie. He hurt him before. The virus, his body did it. His mind, there he was right, would never.  
"Mhh... I know. You just do your thing to me... I´ll push through..."

  
And that was about everything he needed to say before these arms let go of him again, just like all the heat from the body behind him, as Piers pushed himself an arm´s length away. Warm hands found his cheeks again, parting them like before.  
Chris was tense, he felt his palms getting sweaty and lightly slipping on the flat surface he held onto. This was it. He felt something poking at him.

  
He had hoped Piers would go gentle, slow. But no. Everything was just one big, fluent movement from the tip of Piers´ cock teasing his entrance, over the pressure picking up, all the way to the sniper breaching the ring of muscles and steadily pushing inside until about half of his erection was buried in Chris. There had been a smaller resistance than the sniper would have anticipated which made him glad and told him he did a good job preparing his love.  
Now they both just stood there, awkwardly staying still in this position, panting and groaning while Chris wore that painful expression so briefly on his face.

  
But Piers knew that going fast had just possibly saved them a lot of trouble, a lot of careful prodding and such. Sure, it made things all the more uncomfortable for Chris in the beginning but at the same time, Piers wasn´t sure if he could have taken it any slower. He was dying of desire for the older one.

  
And now his manhood was buried in between these globes, so warm insides that hugged him gently. Piers moaned out loud at the blissful feeling.  
Nevertheless, he held still, just closing his eyes and enjoying as he granted Chris the time he needed. Because said one still panted horribly and squirmed in his grasp.

  
Chris wouldn´t have thought that... it would feel so filling and tight. If it wouldn´t be for the uncomfortable stretching down below, this could have been heaven. He calmed himself, however, with the thought that it would vanish soon and when it did, he would have just that. Heaven.

  
Piers´ voice shook him from his thoughts and the younger one soothingly rubbed a hand over his back, succeeding in calming Chris a little. "Are you doing alright?"

  
"Y-Yeah... It´s just new..."

  
"I know..." Piers´ palm gave another few, loving strokes before his hands fell on Chris´ hip instead. He didn´t say any more. And he didn´t need to anyway, as he decided to push in the last bit of his length as well.  
Chris moaned. But Piers failed to really put a finger on if it was from pain or pleasure.

  
He himself was burning bright with lust and with his body pressed flush against Chris´ backside, he felt like it was just too hot. Chris was a furnace anyways. The older male stayed silent and Piers took it as a sign of permission and pulled his cock out slowly. Once more he waited a second.

  
"Ah... fuck...", Chris still continued to silently curse under his breath, especially as Piers leaned forward and started to nibble his earlobe before whispering dirty, little nothings into Chris´ ears. "Yeah... just stay like this... and leave the fucking to me..."  
With a sudden snap of his hips, Piers thrusted inside again, harder and faster than before, causing Chris to rip his mouth open in a silent scream. "D-Damn...!"

  
Feeling this hot pole getting shoved into him again, Chris had to admit it slightly stang his entrance but it also felt like it loosened up quite a bit, stretching him once more.  
It was as if Piers recognized the moment as just that and barely held himself back anymore. Finger clawed into Chris´ sides as Piers repeated the earlier actions, pulling out and pushing in, still in a slow rhythm but now steady without waiting or going carefully anymore.

  
Chris felt like his body had been set on fire. And it took him barely a few moments to really warm up to it, get used to the thick pressure sliding in and out and even craving it in some way. Hell, the boy had worked him towards that point real fast. And he hadn´t even found it yet.

  
Chris leaned his head on his forearms again, his breath coming in ragged pants as he attempted to push back for the first time. This was a dance they would both have to put effort in and now that Chris felt a little more accommodated, he was more than ready to play his part in the friction.

  
The next time Piers drove into him, Chris pushed back in a reversed rhythm, giving him the feeling of Piers pressing into him as far as he could reach. And that felt far. Deep. Like a belly full of Piers´ dick.  
"Ahh..." The sensation flooded through both of them. Still, Piers just allowed himself to moan lewdly but never stop in his movements. He needed more. Had to have more.

  
The moment he pulled out again, Chris almost screamed but could restrain himself and let it out in a loud grunt as he suddenly jerked in front of Piers as if someone had punched him in the gut. More or less true. Just that this feeling was pure bliss. And Piers knew he hit it.

  
"Oh, shit... oh fuck... P-Piers..."

  
The feeling came from deep inside, a pleasant tingle just a million times stronger, in its intensity just so... overwhelming that Chris sank against the counter immobilized for a moment. Piers still granted him no mercy.  
Now knowing where to aim, the sniper started to brush against it, again and again, sometimes purposefully hard, then barely making contact again. But Chris thrashed beneath him like an angry raccoon, trying to get closer, trying to get away from the constant assault as if it was too much to take. A sniper never missed his target and Piers was hellbent on proving that to his lover.

  
The sound of slapping flesh grew in volume in the small kitchen as Piers´ balls continued to hit the other´s backside with every thrust and Chris moaned as he calmed down a little once more. At least with the squirming and thrashing since it had been a feeling just so foreign to him in the first moments. So intense. But the rubbing and prodding against his prostate still got him to be more than just vocal. Piers loved all these sounds he could force out of the older male depending on how he aimed his thrusts or how hard he´d fuck into him.

  
He couldn´t see the other´s face but it sure was priceless. He loved him so. But it was difficult to hold on. The more pleasure Piers felt sewing through his system, the harder Chris would clench down on him, the more Piers felt something slipping from his conscience. But it was so good, so hot, so tight and sent such good feelings down his spine that just amazing sex could, that Piers picked up his pace neither the less, now literally hammering into Chris, fucking him against the counter.

  
And Chris selfishly loved every second of it. The throbbing erection inside him, the hard and the gentle thrusts it performed inside, his own cock rubbing against the kitchen counter with every time he was pushed forward, the stinging feeling when Piers decided to bite down his neck. That one he liked especially.

  
"Oh, you have no idea how good you feel, Chrissy... so tight... so hot...-" He had the feeling Piers was about to say more with the hot breath on his neck but he didn´t. Chris didn´t mind. Dirty talk was nice and all but getting done by Piers...  
Now don´t get him wrong, Chris was far from being a masochist. Really far away, not really being able to understand people who got willingly in these weird, abusive master-slave sex games. Not being able to understand people who liked pain. But... this was nice. To some extent, maybe pain could be thrilling and appealing. At least the little bit Piers was serving him right now. With little bites and hard, bruising sex. It was just right. The right amount to feel turned on but still worshipped and loved by him.

  
He had never thought that such a big and broader built man like him could enjoy it so much to get dominated by someone smaller. Maybe he should give up control more often after this...

  
Piers drove into him, hard and Chris felt something tingle. Not just his sweet spot this time but also how it went down his spine all the way to his balls and unattended member.

  
It took him a moment to shake himself through the fog of lust that clouded his mind for him to realize. He was approaching his end incredibly fast. And Piers didn´t give the impression of him even being half done which was kinda unusual. Chris would normally be the one with the higher stamina, being able to last a lot longer than the sniper. On the other side, Chris didn´t have the feeling that they were especially long at it yet. Maybe getting fucked just wore you out a lot faster.

  
Chris now paid attention to smaller things like his own shaking thighs, barely able to hold him up anymore. Yeah, maybe it was tiring. Chris was about to reach for his own cock, setting his mind on finally giving it some sweet attention but before he could even make contact, Piers sneaked his own hand around them both and lightly slapped his hand away, taking over its job briefly after as it firmly laid around Chris.

  
"Now watch closely, babe..."

  
Piers wasn´t any slower with this either as his hand set into motion and Chris tried with all he had to do what the other said and let his gaze drop so he could watch.  
Piers´ hand had a tight grip and slid up and down, pumping and massaging. It got Chris groaning in pleasure as he couldn´t hold his eyes open anymore and leaned his head back in bliss. Immediately, he felt Piers´ teeth all over his shoulder again and his cock that still brushed against his silky, hot insides.

  
Piers always applied pressure whenever he would get to the tip, giving Chris the feeling as if he was efficiently milking him. And that strategy seemed to be quite successful in pushing Chris over the edge he had been walking on for some time now.  
His balls gave a violent twitch as they pressed out a big load of white, causing it to shoot out of his tip and against the counter in thick ropes. "Piers...!" He arched his back at the feeling, just like he couldn´t care less and loudly moaned his lover´s name.

  
The pumping motion on his dick just slowed down and eventually stopped after Piers had made sure that Chris had gotten rid of every last drop.

  
"Damn..." Chris knew that maybe that was a lot to say, but for a moment he didn´t doubt that was the best sex he ever had as he allowed his body to drown in the high of the afterglow momentarily. He just leaned there now, pressed against his boyfriend as the hand on his manhood let go of him.

  
Piers had stilled in his actions completely. Meaning Chris could feel him still inside but no movement. The sniper hadn´t even come yet. For a moment, Chris wondered if Piers maybe considered pulling out and finish himself off. That would be really nice since Chris felt utterly spend right now and just wanted to sleep, the sexual desire totally replaced with satisfaction. If the veteran would have paid a little less attention to his own feelings but towards his partner, he would have noticed the slight growl on Piers´ lips and the small jerk that went through the smaller one, indicating that said one probably didn't waste a thought on stopping. It was probably the last thing on his mind.

  
"Shit... that was amazing, Piers, but...-"

  
"It´s just over if I say so!" That voice.

  
Chris didn´t have much time to even gasp in shock before Piers pulled out of him brutally fast and grabbed him with both hands, turning him around and slamming him on the counter. The moment Chris was about to feel the slight shock that went through him where fingers touched him, was also the second he was able to see Piers in general, their eyes connecting.  
They were just blue. Electric blue. Just like the faint glow emerging from his right arm that gave sparks of blue lightning that vanished into thin air every time barely after but were still strong enough to illuminate the dimly lit kitchen in dancing lights. Piers was gone. This time for good.

  
"Oh no, no, no..." Immediately, Chris felt himself falling into panic and his hands desperately tried to find leverage on the counter to push himself up and away from the threat that was still his boyfriend. But he wasn´t fast enough and Piers got a hold on his wrist, leaning forward in the process, causing their noses to make contact despite Chris trying to dodge backwards.

  
"Oh yes..."

  
Chris was too shocked to respond anything and briefly everything stayed quiet, Piers didn´t even move a muscle. But Chris wasn´t as naive as to think he was anywhere close to safe terrain.

  
When Piers tried to push in between his legs, his cock still obviously hard and ready, Chris denied him by pressing them together tightly. And Chris had some damn strong thighs. His resistance died, though, when Piers wouldn´t have any of it and just like that, shocked him, the electricity coursing through Chris turning his muscles into jello and, even if he was disgusted at himself, caused his softened penis to give a twitch and harden the tiniest bit at the stimulation. Betrayed by his own body. Fuck this.

  
"Just open up..."

  
After this, Piers had no problem carefully kicking Chris´ knees open and taking a step forward, feeling those muscular legs spasm helplessly on his sides.

  
"I wanna go for a second round... Doesn´t that sound appealing?"

  
"Piers, please..."

  
Chris really didn´t plan on getting raped by the virus in the other´s system. Hell, if Piers would still be Piers maybe he would have let him despite feeling like leaving for dreamland any second. But like this, hell no. Who knew what C was doing once it was done with him or even before that.

  
Chris struggled, tried to push the other away but Piers continued to shock him whenever he did and Chris hated and... loved it at the same time. Or his body did. In his still aroused state, the small shocks went right to his cock and it stood erect once more in the matter of a few long moments, Chris felt so disgusted. Especially because he had bigger problems. This was just so sickening and wrong.

  
Unable to defend himself or just move, under the constant assault of jolts that left his body helplessly shaking, Chris could just uselessly let Piers do as the younger one leaned forward and began kissing his neck. Damn, even his lips... felt hot and pulsing. And it was... so gentle, too.

  
That was the point in time when C whispered something Chris hadn´t been ready to hear from that virus blocking Piers´ mind and conscience. Like ever.

  
"He loves you,... doesn´t he...?", was whispered against his neck with great care and affection and Chris used the small break of shocks the other granted him to swallow the collecting saliva in his mouth as a way to relieve stress.

  
"What...?", he whispered right back, silent and totally obvious to the pain that got portraited in his voice.

  
"You heard me... He loves you and you love him. I came to terms with that, kinda... understand the concept of that now,... Chris..."

  
Just what was happening?! Chris even felt too nervous to breathe as blue glowing hands let go of his wrists but instead grabbed him tightly by the collar of his shirt that he was still wearing.  
A moment later, they already started to work open his buttons.

  
"For whatever reason, I have a hard time controlling Piers. I believe you´re the reason. As easy as that, the cause is his strong feelings. I might be a part of his mind now, constantly but there is hardly a way into there anymore. At least in his waking hours."

  
Warm fingertips grazed his abs as his shirt hang all the way open now. Small sparks danced over them but Chris felt no shocks, how is that-?

  
"I get tired, just like you guys. I begin asking myself why it is so important to control. The easy answer is, it isn´t. It´s just important to exist, to live. And as a part of Piers, I do. I think... I could begin to accept just that..."

  
Piers pulled his head a little away again so Chris could look into his face. His eyes were still shining blue but there was a smile on his lips and it was almost sincere, could you ignore the smug tone of it as well. The hand on his chest wandered up and came to lie on his left shoulder, just over the still red and new scar of a bullet wound. C´s bullet wound.

  
"You´re cute. I could get used to living with someone like you. But I´m not Piers. I´m just a small part of him now. And you don`t love me. You hate me. Who you really want right now is him. I could give him back to you and... stop bothering you two."

  
Now Chris could feel small tingles dance over the spot but it wasn´t painful. It wasn´t even tickling, just... some kind of warm feeling like a hot water bottle. Piers, or C, leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.

  
"Damn, did I wanted to kill you but... the two of you grew on me. Just... promise me I´m allowed to catch up with you guys once in a while over time. If you do that... I´ll go."

  
Everything felt so unreal suddenly to Chris and he squinted his eyes. Could that really be? The thing inside Piers that was a virus invented by Neo-Umbrella had a change of heart and suddenly showed remorse? But Piers had explained that it had a mind just on its own. And an own mind meant own thoughts and conclusions. Maybe C really had begun to understand. Seemed like there were really two different individuals living inside Piers now. Could that be counted as a triangle relationship?

  
The thought was so silly and ridiculous that Chris pushed it away with a snort, instead wanting to speak up, give C an answer but the virus was gone in the next second, ripped away from Piers´ conscience as said one growled and held his head while squeezing his eyes shut.

  
"Fucking-..."

  
The moment Piers opened them again, hazel flickered towards Chris, suddenly so dark in the night shining through the window, without the glowing.  
"Oh no..." Realization hit him hard then and Piers threw himself over Chris, immediately checking his body for potential injuries or marks. "Did... Did I hurt you?!"

  
"You didn´t... If you believe it or not... it just talked with me..."

  
"It just... talked...?" Utter confusion was written all over Piers´ face. And Chris couldn´t blame the kid. He thought he was going crazy as well.

  
"It said it understood the situation and wouldn´t bother us anymore."

  
"Are you fucking shitting me?! It just-" The sniper was about to get louder, more angrily and Chris sensed that as he reached for the other´s hand and put it over his shoulder at the spot C had just been touching, the skin still feeling warm from the earlier special touch. And it luckily got Piers to shut up and stop being so confused for a second.

  
He finally had Piers back, right in front of him and Chris still felt the effect further south that C had been leaving. Maybe all of this timing was messed up as hell but Chris had two priorities right now. Get rid of the irritating boner he had gotten himself into again and then drop to his side and sleep. Everything else could wait until tomorrow morning. "He left me with more than just a few words, you know?"

  
Piers´ gaze instantly dropped between these so openly spread legs in front of him and Chris even saw his Adam's apple lightly bobbing as he observed his lover closely. Piers´ eyes then fell to his own cock that still stood ever since they started this and ached over and over for release.

  
Lastly, his eyes found Chris´ face again. No words came over the sniper´s lips until Chris cocked an eyebrow at him and Piers finally found his voice once more. "Erm... so you still want to?", he asked almost shy as if that incident scared him and now he just needed to know that Chris was okay. That he didn´t come on too strong. That he didn´t push Chris into something that C had initiated.

  
As an answer, Chris wrapped his legs around Piers´ hips, pulling him in carefully. Piers still gave a little yelp when he fell forward in surprise and caught himself with his hands left and right from Chris´ body on the counter. Their breath mingled as their faces were barely millimeters apart.

  
"Hell yeah... Just do me! I... really have to say that earlier wasn´t half bad at all...~"

  
And before Chris could wonder whether Piers would really grant him a second round, full lips were already on him and the weight on top of him pressed him down so Chris had to shift from his elbows to actually lying flat on the counter.  
He eased his legs a little apart when he noticed the tight grip he had on his lover when said one tried to move. When he regained some space, it didn´t take him long to press his still erect cock to Chris´ orifice once more.

  
"I just want you, Chris... No one else... No more pain, okay? We stick together like we promised, until... the last hour."

  
"Until the last breath...", the older one immediately agreed and it wasn´t hard to give Piers that promise, really. Especially if he saw into these gorgeous, hazel eyes and felt that delicate, gentle touch on his scar on the shoulder.  
They shared a smile and Piers warned him with a happy tone in his voice before pushing in again ever so gentle and loving. It earned him a dreamy sigh from Chris who closed his eyes, this time barely feeling any pain anymore. Just the warm pressure of his boyfriend´s prick sliding into him.

  
Piers pushed until all of his length rested inside Chris before he slowly pushed himself up again, standing tall and for a moment just watching Chris laying there in front of him, shirt hanging open, arms over his head and panting and blushing like... like...

  
The lust was ever present and Piers grabbed Chris by the hip. If he had gotten the chance to do this once more in this night, he´d sure make it worth it and enjoy.  
The few first thrusts were kinda hard since Chris momentarily tensed up again and clenched down on Piers. Not that he would complain. The feeling was like no other. And even after Chris managed to relax again, it didn´t let up.

  
Chris radiated so much heat.  
Chris was so handsome and gorgeous.  
Chris took everything Piers decided to dish out on him.

  
He was perfect and Piers felt so horribly grateful to have met him. It got him panting in need just watching Chris arch his back with a moan everytime he drove into him. How his wonderful frame stretched and his cock twitched.  
The sniper concentrated on finding what he discovered earlier again. The position was a little different now but that wasn´t anything Piers couldn´t deal with. And barely a moment later, Chris jolted up with a pleasured grunt.

  
"S-Shit...!"

  
Having found it again, Piers didn´t waste any time and his hands let go of his partner´s hips and reached for his legs around his own hip. He managed to pry them loose and throw them over his shoulders in a moment´s notice. Before leaning over Chris fully, his whole body sheeting whatever he could cover of Chris´ body under his own. And that was surprisingly a lot in this cramped position.

  
With so much skin touching suddenly, Piers felt how sweaty he actually was. Chris as well. But it barely mattered. Not when there was Chris´ cock brushing against his abdomen for example. Or the fact that he could really start hammering into Chris now, at the same time covering their lips so Chris lewdly had no choice but to moan in Piers´ mouth with every thrust.  
This felt so unbelievable right. Like nothing before.

  
And Piers had to admit that he was drawing closer to his unavoidable end now as well. He had been going for some long time though, if he was honest. And it partly filled him with pride to have been able to show Chris all of this and from the looks of it, how he moaned, he liked it quite well. It hadn´t been Piers´ first time topping someone, but it sure had never been like this.

  
"Chris..." Piers ripped his lips away from Chris to sate his need of air and hazel met brown in the dimmed light. Chris seemed to understand exactly what state Piers was in without any words leaving the other´s mouth.  
And to tell the truth, with Piers still thrusting into him, rubbing and abusing his sensitive bundle of nerves, the feeling started to sneak up on him as well.

  
Getting pushed and pulled on the flat surface beneath his back, that ever so consistent feeling of filling and leaving, left Chris in such bliss as he closed his eyes, leaned his head back until it found resistance on the counter.  
But he was tired and he had a feeling this round would be remarkable shorter than the first.  
Just as he had thought that Piers´ sounds seemed to pick up in volume and Chris curiously let one eye slide open in his mind-numbing pleasure.

  
The sweat was collecting on the sniper´s forehead before it ran down in thick droplets, kissing skin and scars on their way down. His eyes were screwed shut while his pants came ragged through his open hanging mouth. The perfect picture of someone having the time of their life while intercourse.

  
There was also another little detail that Chris picked up and that were little blue sparks following the pale lines where flesh was once damaged. They flashed over his skin angrily and seemed to pick up with each passing second. Chris felt like he should be worried but he wasn´t. Not when one little spark made contact with his skin and it left just a pleasant tingle like earlier. For whatever reason, once again, it didn´t hurt.

  
Piers sped up and moaned louder and louder. Chris trusted him, so he closed his eyes once more, just letting things happen. A few more moments it continued like before. Then, suddenly, Chris felt Piers coming, moaning Chris´ name loudly as his balls tightened before a second later the veteran tensed momentarily as he felt the hot, white liquid of his lover fill him to the rim. Fuck, that was so warm and sticky...

  
"Th-That´s right, give it to me!"

  
Everything happened at once when Piers seemed to come forever, his climax dragging on for some long seconds as the electricity picked up, covering his whole arm and enlightening the room like that in a bright, blue light.  
Chris couldn´t do anything other than laying there, taking it and watch.

  
It almost had been enough to make himself cum as well, but not fully. It was such an irritating feeling, hanging on the edge but not falling over yet. It should have been enough. Piers gave it to him like a god and had put great care into making him feel good as well, even came in him, which Chris hadn´t been so sure before if he liked but now... definitely loved.  
The veteran watched Piers´ face intently while he had his orgasm and even after, when the relaxed feeling of afterglow hit him. Piers had his eyes closed for some seconds before he opened them again and looked down at Chris, said one still laying totally exposed there, raging boner with a steady stream of pre-cum running down. His dick still inside him. It only took Piers a second to figure out Chris hadn´t shot his load yet.

  
When he did, his face softened and he leaned forward to kiss Chris gently and briefly. "Don´t worry, babe... I got you..."  
No more words needed to be spoken when Piers´ hand once again wrapped around the other´s cock, wasting no time before stroking him fast and hard. He knew Chris was already there, just needed a little more.

  
And so it happened that they fell into that rhythm again, Piers stroking him while Chris lightly tried to buck upwards into his hand with up picking moans. But he couldn´t do that without moving too much, every time he did feeling Piers still deep inside him, hot, wet and pressuring sensations all around that area. He was a complete mess. Just like Piers who felt all these things as well with Chris moving against his softening manhood.

  
Piers still seemed to have one last trick up his sleeve. And even if he didn´t like to admit it, he had always wanted to show Chris what he could do with lightly charged fingertips in his right mind.

  
The response was immense and fast when he decided to just go through with it, letting a little bit of electricity dance over his finger, allowing it to come closer to Chris then he ever really liked. Especially in that region.

  
"Ah!" Chris bucked widely beneath him, throwing his head back so violent, Piers could hear a little 'thump' noise when it collided with the counter. The younger one barely stopped to make sure Chris was alright before continuing, picking up pace but always keeping the amount of electricity low.

  
Piers wasn´t really sure if he was pleasuring Chris right now or just torturing him in the worst way possible. And he sure wasn´t in the condition to give him an answer.  
For a moment, Piers reduced what he was doing to Chris but understood fast when Chris gave a disappointed whimper. "Don´t stop!"

  
So he didn´t. He kept going. Chris kept squirming beneath him, throwing his head from one side to the other with loud moans as his strong thighs tensed on either side of Piers, giving him the impression Chris would squeeze him to death. But he understood the signs of Chris just so hopelessly giving it up to Piers with his needy hip bucking. It created the best kind of rhythm together with Piers´ own strokes.

  
Before long, Chris bit his lips and began laying totally still. Piers knew what was coming now as the other also screwed his eyes shut, arching his back so beautifully and one, two moments later he could just purr in delight when his lover hit his high, cumming all over his calmingly glowing fingers and hand.

  
Chris was much quieter in his climax, he usually was. But that little desperate sigh of Piers´ name still got the sniper´s heart to flutter in pride. That or it might have been the sinful feeling of Chris clenching down on him in the southern regions.  
"Ugh..." Both of them still panted in post-climax bliss and Piers just slowly peeled his hand off Chris, bringing it to his mouth straight after and deliciously licked off all the juices of his lover. "Damn...", he whispered while doing so.

  
Chris watched his actions with a sly grin before it turned into a silent 'o' the moment Piers decided to put both his hands on his hips and carefully removed himself out of Chris. Said one couldn´t hold back a quiet mewl as he felt all that Piers gave him now even more prominent inside, some of it even running out of him in a weak stream as the stiff pole left him with a wet 'pop'.

  
Chris´ legs immediately relaxed and fell off Piers´ sides. For a moment no one of the pair moved, Chris just laying on the counter, panting while one arm reached up to lay over his eyes. Piers just standing there awkwardly, hair in a mess, not the mention the sparks that now slowly subsided again.

  
"What was that?", Chris suddenly asked as he looked up with a groan, his arm still covering one eye.

  
It was obvious what he meant so Piers just shrugged. "I don´t know... I just... wanted to do that..."

  
"And you could control it just like that...? You know, without... losing control?"

  
"Obviously..." Piers could think about a million better things to talk about right now than his mutation. Like what other nice things just happened. So he smiled at Chris and came a step closer again, leaning over Chris like moments before. "How was it?" It was maybe cheesy but also the only and first thing to come to Piers´ mind.

  
"Well..." It only took a second for Chris´ face to also display a huge smile. "It was hot and hard and totally satisfying me..."  
Piers snorted at that and leaned even closer, their noses almost touching as Piers relaxed and let his weight rest a little on top of Chris, ignoring the sticky feeling of sweat and jizz. "What exactly are we talking about here? The sex or my...-"

  
"Psh!", Chris playfully covered his mouth with a hand before kissing him after. "You know what I´m talking about... It was really great, Piers. It felt amazing and you just did so good...", Chris complimented him and lightly put a hand on Piers´ back, petting him a little.

  
Piers relaxed right into it like a kitten and closed his eyes, just now feeling a huge exhaustion coming over him. "Hmm~"  
His lover picked up on it in a heartbeat and a soft chuckle escaped the older one´s throat even if it sounded more than just a little raspy. "Look at you, all sweet and cuddly suddenly. Well... how about we call it a day?" He could imagine how bad Piers would need a good night´s rest. He himself as well.

  
So he didn´t have to wait long before Piers gave him a nod and peeled himself off Chris, offering him a hand afterwards. They went to bed like this, totally forgetting about the unfortunate events that led them to it. And the virus stayed silent.


	40. Chain Of Command

_16th of December 2013, Monday_

 

  
And the irritating, little thing continued to do so, staying silent. 24/7.   
Chris would ask Piers every day how he was feeling. And the answer would be the same every time as well. That he was doing more than just fine and feeling as if the virus had never been a part of him.   
But things couldn´t continue like that forever. Chris had lost his job.   
But fortunately, even there luck seemed to be on their side in form of a nice university in the heart of Lincoln. A pretty big one actually.

  
The University of Nebraska was a pretty huge and popular school for young adults and pretty well known for their high standards. It also participated in a lot of school activities. Such as a baseball team that had won some prices and competitions until this day.

  
But the former coach of the team had retired. Leaving the position open for someone else. They had heard about it as they eavesdropped on two older ladies in the supermarket. They didn´t get to hear much of it as the two elderly females became aware of their presence and left rather fast after eyeing them over.   
Chris was worried Piers might take it the wrong way, shy away from their intertwined hands and pull over his hoodie but the young one watched after them calmly before letting a smug grin play over his lips. Pissing off homophobes in public had become something like a dirty pleasure to the boy in the shortest time.   
It got Chris to chuckle in delight.

  
After coming home, the older one had thought about it for a bit. He never thought he´d go down the road of working with kids. That had never been anywhere near what he was interested in. And a university? He himself dropped out of high school. He never wanted to see a school from the insides ever again! Terrible, terrible things happened in there...   
On the other side, he´d have the position of a PE teacher. So no touching books or pens, let alone that disgusting feeling Chris had experienced whenever touching chalk on the blackboard. That alone got him to shudder in disgust.

  
He´d be out on the field, together with some young adults wanting to do something useful in their free time. And hey, Chris could certainly teach them one or two things about staying in shape. Even about baseball.

  
So after talking some more about it with Piers, he called the university on said day and now, 3 days later, the sniper waited in front of the school gates for his boyfriend to return to him after talking with some higher-ups about the position.   
The younger one had leaned against one of the trees, letting his eyes wander around. It was a nice neighborhood the university was in. Clean pavements, no graffiti or anything. Said a lot about the kids attending it.

  
It had gotten remarkable colder in the last days, winter now coming in full force. Piers pulled his jacket tighter against his body and closed the last few buttons, watching his own breath come out in little clouds. The trees around him almost lost all leaves by now but some brownish, yellow spots were still around, especially in the bushes and smaller trees.   
For a brief second, Piers wondered when snow would come this year or if it would come at all. Sometimes it just didn´t. Or at least that was how it used to be in Hyannis.

  
If there was indeed some snow choosing to show up, he´d be happy to spend his first holidays with Chris outside. Even if he still wasn´t a friend of the coldness, he knew Chris was rarely bothered by it and loved some outside activities.  
Well, first they would have to get through this interview today.   
Piers´ opinion to this new offer was completely optimistic and positive.

  
Chris might not know it but Piers always believed that Chris would do well with children. Maybe it was the fact he raised Claire, maybe that he was a big softie in the body of a bear. Whatever it was, it was that gentle side that just gave it away. Apart from that, Chris knew everything about training and working out, having bulked up so hard many years ago to defeat Wesker and then, kept it until now.   
He could certainly train a few kids, after all, he used to do it with the rookies as well.

  
The working hours were good too, fucking great compared to what he had in the nightclub. Monday to Friday, 8 hours a day. Piers was looking forward to so much more time than they used to have. Maybe they could start doing more couple activities like going on dates. Just small thing. But small things would already mean the world to Piers.   
Also, the pay. The university was good, had standards and was popular. They were paying Chris a lot more. An amount they could maybe even... if they saved up... one day... buy a small house with.

  
Piers pushed the thought away again fast. Hold your horses, take it slow.

  
But in general, if Chris would get that job, all their worries would disappear into thin air. So knew Chris. There was a reason he spent a full hour in the bathroom this morning when it usually were just 10 minutes. There was a reason he practiced with Piers what to say the whole evening yesterday.

  
Sometimes, Piers still felt bad for Chris having to sacrifice his free time for them but... Piers was having no luck. Secretly, he had started looking around for a job as well. He had tried it at a few places. At a supermarket, at a hairdresser, just something small would have been enough for Piers. But apart from him having no experience at any of these things, whatsoever, the moment he would walk in for an interview it was over. Sometimes, they would be so polite to still ask him some question to appear interested but most of the time they would come up with some lie, like the position got taken shortly, before urging him outside, not being able to look him in the face.

  
But Piers shrugged it off and took it like a soldier. He rarely let the scars bring him down anymore. He learned to love them even, in a way. Chris made him understand that they were a part of him. One that he could not get rid of and shouldn´t because it was important. Important to remember, important to keep himself aware why he did it.

  
It still got him a little sad sometimes, seeing Chris going through all that just for them but... maybe this job wouldn´t suck, maybe even be fun, letting him enjoy it. The pay and hours were just a nice addition then.   
Piers sighed, shaking his head a little and pressing himself closer to the wall in hopes of getting rid of all these thoughts. Just don´t think anything for a while. Would do you some good.

  
So he closed his eyes and tried to relax some. If he would have paid a little more attention to his surroundings, he might have heard the slight rustling of leaves and branches not too far from him.

 

  
\------------------

 

  
In any other situation, Angela Miller really could have done well without having to crouch through all these bushes but it was important that her target wouldn´t spot her. That would be the worst possible outcome.

  
So she was as careful as can be as she pushed her body yet a little further, staying as close to the ground as she could.   
There he was, standing a distance of maybe 30 feet away, leaning against the school's campus wall, totally oblivious to his surroundings. Angela allowed herself the time to look him over and mentally compare him to the reports. In his middle twenties, a height of around 1.80, slightly muscular build and the typical spikes in the front of his hair. At least that the kid could have changed, how reckless. Not that he could have done anything against the scars covering the whole right side of his face. Boy, he stood out like a sore thumb. Did he really think they would never find him?

  
Just after she could doubtfully confirm that the man in front of her was Piers Nivans, did Angela pull out her intercom from one of her endless pockets on her black uniform and brought it to her ear. She made sure it was on its quietest volume before pressing the only button on it and started speaking.

  
"This is 'Moth To The Flame'. Please respond, 'Agent Pretty Hair'."

  
"Fffuck, Angela! Could everyone please just STOP calling me that!?"

  
Angela tried to hold back a laugh, even if she just managed to reduce it to a giggle. Maybe it wasn´t really the best time but Leon´s reaction had certainly been worth it. Totally worth it.

  
"S-Sorry..", she pressed out between little chuckles before it finally died down altogether. "I found our target..."

  
"You mean you found Nivans?!" Leon actually sounded a little shocked or maybe surprised. Well, it´s been quite some time ever since this mission started, the boy had been running for months. And now finally they were so close.

  
"Yes. Right now I´m maybe 10 meters away from him, hiding in some bushes in front of the University of Nebraska."

  
She had known he had to be here. Ever since she had that lucky hit and met Redfield. When she got involved, getting invited into this case by Leon himself, Angela had been quick to gather all the information she could get, including their suspected route and that encounter with Jake. Plus the info that his family lived in Nebraska, Angela had played with the thought of beginning to search there. A call from Mrs. Nivans had sealed that idea.

  
The woman was actually desperate, crying into the phone about how she couldn´t understand and how the BSAA had told her he was dead. And how it was possible that he suddenly showed up on her doorstep. Angela had tried to calm her, promising that she would find him which was hard, twisted something deep inside her as she knew yeah, she would find him but she would kill him when she did.

  
She hadn´t wasted a second after that, making her way to Nebraska but it had been obvious that they wouldn´t be anywhere near the Nivans´ place anymore. It was actually pure luck Angela went for the capital, trusting her instincts that criminals always craved the anonymity of the big cities. And when she had just tried to settle in, do some undercover work. A nightclub seemed fitting to her, nobody would suspect a woman trying to gather some extra money with waitressing.   
That she found Chris Redfield in that bar had been pure luck once more but Angela couldn´t have been any more grateful. That moment she saw him, she recognized him. Who didn´t know Chris Redfield around the organizations that tried to stop bioterror?! Everyone did.

  
Also, he was wanted as well. Angela had radioed in with Leon on the same day and requested further orders. 'Lie low, we need Nivans.' had been everything he had said to her.

  
So she did. But things continued like that. Just Chris, no Nivans. Sometimes she had tried to follow him home but it was like Chris knew all the shortcuts, all the little alleyways and passages around the town and she lost him every time. The day she actually followed him all the way to the bus stop, she deemed it too dangerous to enter the same vehicle like him.  
That day with the bar fight, she had lied to finally get somewhere, get a fucking reaction for once, changing, spicing things up.

  
Chris had been drunk, angry. She didn´t really know anymore what she expected. Maybe Chris calling Piers to pick him up after getting fired. Nivans playing the hero and coming to get Chris. But nothing.  
Chris had just straight out walked out of the bar and she had been unable to follow because that dumbass Mark continued to hold them down, shouting and bitching, refusing to let them go. And she had lost him.   
But now she was closer to her goal than ever before.

  
"How does the target behave?"

  
Something was in Leon's voice that she couldn´t place. Worry, maybe. Maybe hope that Nivans wasn´t as fucked up and hostile how everyone was assuming.   
But the plan stood, neutralize the threat, Leon knew that and so did Angela.

  
"He´s totally at ease, just standing there. He has his eyes closed and, if I´m allowed to speak my own opinion, I don´t think he would hurt someone..."

  
Silence from the other side of the line.

  
"Should I... neutralize him...?"

  
"Not there, right now. Not in the middle of a public street."  
She could understand. They were in front of a school even for god´s sake.

  
"Where´s Chris?", Leon asked now instead.

  
"Erm... I don´t know, really. I just got here. On the other side, he looks like he´s waiting for someone. Could be Chris."

  
"Ugh, I don´t like this..." Neither did Angela. Talking about bringing Nivans down was one thing, seeing him now for the first time a whole other. Angela felt herself sympathizing with him faster than she liked, without even having talked to the boy. But his calm and collected, almost peaceful behavior got her doubting that that person could truly, seriously bring harm to someone.

  
But she knew that wasn't always to be trusted. She had thought her brother couldn´t harm anyone either, then he went ahead and tried to do just that. It´s been so long, she should get over the whole Harvardville/S.R.T thing.  
She thought she left it behind her when she joined TerraSave right after. She had felt the desire to join the fight against bioterror and Leon had pointed her to that organization. And Claire had accepted her willingly.

  
Now even the younger Redfield was behind lock and key for the time being, until they found her brother. The whole situation, all of these events were so messed up, ripping holes in a group of people, organizations that once used to work so smoothly together. Angela was happy if all of this would finally be over...

  
Suddenly Piers moved and turned towards the gate and a second later, she could tell why. "Someone is coming his way. It´s... Redfield!"

 

  
\---------------------

 

  
"Chris!~", the sniper cheered as he saw his boyfriend approaching, walking calming over the schoolyard until he came to stand right in front of him.   
"Piers...", he just replied with a big grin on his face. He looked so happy, so Piers didn´t even need to hear any words to realize that it went smoothly.

  
And then the older one suddenly wrapped his arms around the younger´s waist, pulling him up and spinning him carefully around in the air, drawing a yelp from Piers at the sudden, embarrassing move. "Chris!", he giggled unwillingly as he felt like in some kind of cheesy romance movie. "Put me down!"

  
The veteran complied, putting his feet back on the ground but never removed his hands from the place they rested on. And before Piers could ask how it went, Chris leaned in close and whispered in a happy tone. "I´ve got the job."

  
"Fuck yes!", the other let out and both his hands shot up to hold Chris´ head between his palms, pulling him close and kissing him in plain daylight.

  
Some of the students, that here and there were running around, stopped in their tracks and watched them. But they were spared some hateful comments as these kids really seemed to wear the heart in the right place and just continued on their way.

  
Not that Piers would have cared anyway. His arms snaked around Chris´ neck instead, pulling him closer in relief and happiness.

 

 

\-------------------------------

 

 

"...Did you know that they were dating...?", Angela let out in a confused whisper as she was unable to take her eyes off the display in front of her, unbelieving. Nivans and Redfield just continued to stand there and kiss without a care in the world. That wasn´t mentioned in the reports!

  
"Excuse me, WHAT? ...What are you saying?!" Well, apparently Leon did not according to that reaction.

  
"They are standing there and kiss. Like damn... Minding their own business, aren´t even bothered by those teenagers.", Angela kept going and observing. Unwillingly that boosted the two up a big deal on her likability chart.

  
Once again Leon was silent for a bit, probably not having counted with something like that. Then he spoke again as if remembering that it wasn´t changing anything. "Well... I have troubles picturing that but... whatever. The mission still stands, kill Nivans, bring home Redfield."

  
Angela hesitated. Chris and Piers broke apart now, just leaning their foreheads together, smiling and in that moment they looked so innocent, so... peaceful and happy that Angela bit her bottom lip in guilt. "You didn´t tell me I had to rip apart two lovers..."

  
"Since I didn´t know. Not that I think I heard that from anyone else before either. They must have started doing that after fleeing. Would make sense, since that would bring them in big trouble if they would still be serving."  
To Leon, this still sounded as if Angela had made that up. He knew Chris ever since that shit had started in Raccoon City. And even if he had never seen Chris with a functionating, long-lasting relationship, he had seen him with enough women before. Just women.

  
To think that Chris suddenly changed the team and that for his Lieutenant, the idea was hard to imagine for the blond.

  
"Why´s that?", Angela asked even if she knew the answer. She herself had spent enough time in the military. It just... seemed so unfair to her.

  
"Fratinisation. Code of conduct. Hell, they´re both dudes."  
And that seemed to be the point where Angela´s mood suddenly changed to enraged and she gave a deep growl into the intercom.

  
"I didn´t know you were that shallow minded, Leon..."

  
It must have been too quiet, for Leon gave a questioning sound.

  
This time, Angela made herself clear in all earnestly. "Get someone else to do it." It came out of her faster than she had control over it. "I´m not getting between two lovers." She repeated her earlier words.

  
Angela remembered how she used to have a little crush on the blond when Havardville happened. Realistically, who wouldn't? The man was hellishly handsome, always kept a cool head and even wore his heart in the right place. Angela always thought so.

  
But Leon was someone who had problems to bind himself. Angela was sure that he was probably a good man if he would ever get into a serious relationship, probably. He just never did. He liked to keep himself possibilities open and Angela had learned fast that Leon wasn´t the type of man she was looking for or could make it work with. Since he didn´t want anything serious and she didn´t want anything but serious.

  
She still never remembered a situation where she felt so... betrayed by him, maybe even lowkey disgusted.   
At first, she had taken that mission serious like nothing else before. Because she knew it was important and there was a threat to fight. A big threat. But the closer she got in her accomplishments, the closer she got to Chris, the more she had begun to understand that someone had probably exaggerated at some point and there was no difference if they would find them or not.   
She had s

till continued for the sake of the greater good and now she stood here, in front of her goal, just to realize that the two suspects had succeeded into building a whole new life together from scratch because they put effort into it and had a good will. And that she was supposed to lead them into their misery now, again, just because some higher-up felt pissed by the way Chris and Piers had decided 'No, forget it'.

  
She refused. Outright began thinking the same. They were doing no harm, literally. If they decided that the danger for their lives was too big and they just wanted to get away, goddamn it, let it go.

  
Leon was having none of it. She didn´t think he would understand. "Angela, for christ's sake, we don´t have time for this! Feeling conflicted about a mission and refusing to execute it are two totally different things! I want you to fucking pick up your GPS-finder and set it to 'On' so we can trac-"  
She hung up on him.

  
One or two seconds passed before she even registered it herself, what she just did and what consequences it could, would probably have.   
She was in for some trouble once she came back. For some big trouble. But Angela trusted her better judgment. She knew she probably shouldn´t. But her gut told her something else. It told her that there was no reason anymore for this crazy witch hunt and that, maybe, it wasn´t anymore about safety and justice but hurt egos and who was more convinced about being in the right.

  
It was stupid and she didn´t want to be a part of it. If Leon still held onto that mission and wanted to ruin a couple of more lives then he should go ahead and get some blood on his own hands. She was out.

  
Angela continued to sit there in the bushes for some time. She couldn´t move anyways, as long as the two males still stood there, the risk was too big that they would still spot her now. Just because she gave up her objective didn´t mean Angela would just walk over and tell them that they were closer to getting caught than ever before. Leon and the others now knew they were in Lincoln.

  
And even if Angela felt the strong desire to help them a little more, this was now not up to her anymore. She already helped them out a big deal right now even if they would probably never find out.

  
She sent a quick prayer up above that they would stay safe and with these last words, this whole thing was over for her part.   
A little while later they retreated, walking down a path hand in hand and Angela caught herself looking after them longer then she had intended, with a smile covering her face.

 

  
\--------------------------

 

  
"So, tell me everything in detail!"

  
Piers was more than eager to hear from Chris how it went. Even if he already knew the fortunate outcome, the sniper was still kinda curious how Chris had convinced a whole staff and a principal that he was the right man to train a bunch of kids.   
Chris set his coke to the side to be able to look at Piers from across the table and sent him a heartwarming smile.   
He had led the younger one to their favorite cafe right after he got out of the university. Just wanting to wind down for the rest of the day --which was still pretty long-- and because he had known Piers would want a calm place to ask him all these questions and sate his curiosity.

  
He took a moment to observe the other like he often did nowadays.

  
Piers sat there in front of him on this table for two and his big, hazel eyes blinked at him in youthful innocence. A mug of light brown coffee steamed in front of the sniper as he had insisted on something hot to warm him up from the cold outside. Even if it wasn´t that cold, Chris believed but he wouldn´t argue with Piers on this.

  
The younger one had gotten rid of his scarf and thick jacket that now hung over his headrest, leaving Piers´ face, neck and even a bit of his collar area completely free and obvious. And Piers didn´t give a single damn. The boy really came a long way.  
It touched Chris emotionally more than he needed it right in this moment and the veteran dropped his gaze to the single candle that stood on their table and looked like it was about to die. The light didn´t really have much effect anyways, since the place´s walls were a dark wood, letting this cafe feel comfy but also old and creating an outdated cabin atmosphere.   
Well, Chris and Piers found themselves visiting this place any other day. For dates. Real dates. Piers waited long enough to be able to say that.

  
"Alright..." Chris brought his glass once more to his lips before setting it to the side and sitting up a little straighter now with a small grunt. He didn´t need to look to know that Piers was smiling from the gesture. "So I went in there, to the room I got told on the phone and I walk in there and half a dozen pairs of eyes were on me. You know, I wouldn´t be bothered by it usually but I still felt slightly nervous. But the talk in itself was pretty good, they asked me if I knew how to play baseball. I told them Hell Yeah and I think they really liked me. One of them asked if I had any experience with teaching, and I had to remember the rookies on base. So I said 'Sure, I volunteered in a sports club.' Volunteered so they more likely wouldn´t ask for proof... Yeah, your boyfriend isn´t as stupid as you think sometimes.~", Chris grinned widely and watched how Piers shook his head with a small smile.

  
"I don´t think you´re stupid! At least not as much as I used to think it...", Piers confessed.

 

"Jeez, thanks..."  
Piers just continued to smile. If Chris knew how often Piers shook his head about Chris in the beginning. the way he would recklessly get himself into danger and things like that. Yes, in the beginning, Piers Nivans thought his Captain was kind of retarded.

  
But now, roughly four years later, he leaned forwards to cup the older one´s cheek gently.   
"You´ll do great in this job, I just know it!"

  
"Thank you... Well, at least you always believe in me."

  
Piers didn´t know who of them it was anymore, but they both seemed to lean forward at the exact same moment to kiss. It got them some looks from the people around but they could hardly be bothered. They talked some more and actually ordered some food before they left the place late in the afternoon.

  
The moment Chris opened the door and wanted to gesture Piers through (yes, he could try and be a gentleman) said one just stopped right in the doorway and Chris frowned, first looking Piers over before guiding his eyes outside.   
There was a fine, thin layer of snow covering the pavement and the buildings around the street.   
And it was still snowing.

  
The pair stepped outside a couple meters and looked up at the sky. Both of their faces wore a smile as they came to look at each other again. Neither of them spoke a word but it were the same kind of thoughts circling both their heads. The year was slowly coming to an end. It´s been months until they started that whole ordeal and now they finally seemed to come to rest. They had found a place to stay and now winter was coming. And after winter, a new year. A new life.

  
Carefully, Chris reached for the other´s hand and said one took it without hesitation before they started walking home. Piers wasn´t scared of public affection.


	41. Knock Them Into Shape

_20th of December 2013_

 

 

"Cole, what the hell is this?! That´s not how you´ll ever hit the ball!"

  
The teenage boy immediately stopped in his movements and let the bat sink to his side, eyes wide on Chris as said one came over and stood next to him. He knew he intimidated some of the kids here, he was new and well... big and angry looking sometimes. Chris tried to be a little more uplifting and went to training with a smile on his lips always. But... these kids were bad. Incredibly bad and Chris didn't know how they ever won anything or how he should teach them to do it again. They had an important game already next month and that apparently was his big chance to prove himself if the kids would win. But he didn´t have nearly enough time on his hands!

  
"I´m sorry, Mister Clemens.", Cole mumbled and kicked some dirt with his boots. The boy was 17 years old, younger than most others in the team, but often behaved even younger in his shy persona. In a way, he reminded him extremely of Finn. Fuck... The 24th was coming around...

  
Chris dismissed the thought. It definitely wasn´t needed right now. He sighed.

  
"It´s alright... Even though your stance isn´t really the best." He carefully took the bat from the boy, making sure that he didn´t scare him or uncomfortable as he wrapped his own hands around it. It´s been so long since he himself had a good baseball game/match, maybe in his own high school time, but there were things in life you simply didn't forget.

  
"You need to spread your legs a little wider, bending your knees, kiddo. Try to stand that the space between your legs equals the width of your shoulders. Your feet need to stand parallel towards each other. And don´t forget the backfoot." Chris gestured for a kid named Toby to throw the ball and sure enough, differently than Cole performed, Chris hit the ball and it flew a couple of yards so another kid had to dash for it to retrieve it. A little gasp went through the line of children that watched.

  
Chris carefully gave the bat back to Cole who held it in his hand as if a legend just touched it. Chris just awkwardly rubbed his neck before he began talking again. "Other than that, you´re doing fine. ´S good, kiddo." He turned towards the other boys with a smile. "Ya too!"

  
It wasn´t like Chris secretly spend the whole weekend on the internet, googling how to coach a baseball team, no... Well, at least now he knew how important it was to keep the kids interested and happy. Even though Chris believed he was probably the last coach on this planet that really cared about success. Even the best success on this planet wouldn´t get you anywhere if your heart wasn´t in it.

  
The most important thing about this was how the boys liked it. Still, the big match scared him... Nebraska University had more than one sports team, baseball, basketball, even football. The principal talked a lot and said a lot of names and terms but Chris hardly cared. He got the baseball team with ten members, all around the age of 17-20. He even had a girl in it, she was the toughest little lady he´d ever seen. Maybe besides Claire at that age.

  
Chris shortly dared to check his watch and cleared his throat when Damien finally came back with the ball in hand, cheering how he had to climb over the campus fence since 'Mr. Clemens' had hit it so hard.

  
"Alright, guys. We´re gonna wrap this up with some nice last 10 minutes of base running. I know how you all like it!" A loud groan went through the whole group but Chris hushed them. "It´s okay. It´s just ten minutes. If you do good, we´ll drop it next time, ya hear me?"

  
They nodded, apparently a little more at ease with that deal as they started to practice their fastest run around all four bases.  
Chris watched with a cautious eye. It almost exactly felt like on training grounds. Just that the rookies were a lot younger and not about to face an immediate danger. The worst that could happen to these little, precious things was the loss of ...a game. And, Chris still thought, that was the nicest thing on earth compared to the other horrors.

  
They grew on him quite fast. Something that Chris wasn´t really surprised of but would have avoided if he had the chance to choose. He always started caring so goddamn fast in the past, father instincts probably kicking in that he didn´t even know he had. Back in the day, it would lead to his heart getting torn open over and over again if a young fellow soldier didn´t make it home. But this wouldn't happen here. Still, somehow he was still scared.

  
10 minutes passed by in a flash or maybe it just felt that way to him, since he stood on the sideline. Chris always used to hate PE teacher who did this, just watching how the students died of exhaustion. So he often tried to actively work with them, getting in as a player in practice game or running laps with them. But he really didn´t feel like it today. Maybe that teacher's syndrome was rubbing up on him faster then he liked.

  
"Okay, team!", he shouted, hoping to raise the team spirit a little every time he would call them that. "It´s getting dark, get your butts home!"

  
They all stopped in their tracks and took a few deep breaths before they made their way from the school's baseball ground to the locker room and eventually home. Chris watched them a little before he turned to their equipment laying on the ground, neatly placed and stacked on a pile as if they really tried to be tidy. These kids were well behaved. If only their play wouldn´t suck so hard...

  
Bending down, Chris somehow managed to get a hold of all these bats and bags full with balls in one go and he whirled around to make his way to the shed to place them all there for the night as he almost stumbled over Cole who suddenly stood right behind him.

  
"Cole...? Erm, you forgot something?", Chris asked, shrugging his whole frame in hopes of getting a better grip on the items who threatened to fall to the floor.

  
"N-Not really, Mr. Clemens. I just thought it would be rude to leave you alone with all the equipment and-..."  
Chris just laughed shortly but shook his head. Cute kid.

  
"That won´t be necessary, boy. Go home." With that, Chris already turned around and carefully began to make his way down the football field where the sports shed was located. But Cole seemingly didn't want to let the issue drop and was on his side shortly after. This kid was almost as headstrong and stubborn as a certain someone waiting at home...

  
"But, sir!" Chris flinched at the title, causing one of the bats to slip free and fall to the ground where Cole picked it up instantly. "...H-How are you coming home?"

  
Chris stopped and frowned at the question. Why would it matter? He couldn´t think of any reason a student would ask his teacher such a question. But alright... humor him.

  
"If you have to know, kiddo. I´m getting picked up in a little while. Just like you might be. So get in the locker room, change and head home, alright?", he spoke slow, almost as if he had the worry that Cole didn't understand him in general.  
He tried to grab the bat from Cole but he dodged and Chris felt how everything in his arms slipped down a little further. "After I helped you carry...!"

  
A sigh came over Chris´ lips and he rolled his eyes. Maybe these kids were too well behaved. Chris let the kid do as he pleased as he continued to march on, the shed coming into view.

  
"Christmas is coming, sir. What are you gonna do for Christmas?"

  
Once again, Chris frowned. He didn´t like the curiosity of the kid. The most impossible scenarios rushed through his head. Maybe he was a BSAA agent...

  
"Well... we´re not going to make it something major. Probably... just gonna spend it alone..."

  
Chris used to love Christmas. When it was him, Claire and their parents. Even after they were gone, it was still always nice and happy. He doubted he could even see Christmas with the same eyes again ever after Edonia.

  
"We, sir...? Like you and your parents...? Or family..."

  
Oh hell no, he didn´t like the disappointment in that voice!

  
"Me and my lover, Cole."

  
The kid´s face darkened with an expression Chris couldn't read. Wasn´t sure he wanted to read. "That´s amazing, Mr. Clemens." But the happiness in these words never met his eyes.

  
"So she´s just your lover? Are you gonna marry her?"

  
Chris probably should have seen that coming. He tried not to think too much about that question. It was for John, not for him. Maybe, if he was already working so hard on his facade, maybe John Clemens could potentially have a girlfriend he was about to marry, just not Chris Redfield. No one had to know.

  
"I don´t know. It... hasn´t been that long..."

  
"Is she pretty...?"

  
Once again, Chris hesitated. "Yeah..."

  
"And you like her like that...?"

  
"Yeah..."

  
"So why not marry her?"

  
Finally, they reached the shed and Chris unlocked it without another word. They stepped inside, Chris practically feeling Cole staring holes into his back. "Put the bats over there.", he commanded without answering anything and Cole complied hesitatingly. Just after they put everything in its place and left the shed, locking it, Cole already thought he would never get an answer, did Chris speak up.

  
"Marriage is a really big deal, Cole. You don´t realize yet how big. You bind yourself to someone for a lifetime. You can´t just decide that after two months." Nebraska wasn´t allowing gay marriage, was the thought he never voiced out loud.

  
"Oh... I see...", the young man in front of him hummed before eventually turning around, finally ready to leave him alone. "I wish you a good night, Mr. Clemens." And without another word, he was gone in the direction of the locker room, vanishing into the darkening light of the soon-to-be-there sunset.

  
Chris looked after him but found that he hardly cared and should scratch that conversation as soon as possible from his memories.

  
10-15 minutes later he stood, showered and changed back into clean clothes himself, in front of the parking lot of the university, yawning throughout smoking his cigarette. It was dark by now, training always took that long in the evening. Chris held great respect for these kids who applied for a sports club alongside their already busy school life. Heaven knew he wouldn´t have found the drive for something like that back in his school days.

  
A small, battered-looking, grey car pulled into the driveway, just to come to a stop in front of him a moment later. The door was opened for him the moment he stomped the butt of his cigarette to the ground and he faced Piers who smiled at him, holding the passenger´s door open from the inside, leaned over from behind the wheel, which looked less than comfortable.  
"How ya doing?", he grinned in his direction and it succeeded into coaxing Chris into relaxation. Working time was over.

  
"Alright, I guess." He gave the other back that same kind of grin as he already flopped down into the car, the small thing giving a protesting creak. "And you?"

  
"Had some fun in the park, you should have been there. Max is getting better at following commands.", Piers purred proudly almost as if the boxer was his own dog as he turned the keys in the ignition, letting the car roar back to life and rolling it off on the street.

  
Chris chuckled and let himself sink into the seat some more. This car was old but sure comfy as hell. Driving around the busy town of Lincoln in a huge trailer was a pain in the neck, not to mention the parking spots. So they bought a new car. Well, a new old car. It did its purpose, bringing them around everywhere. They sure had the money for it now.

  
Piers found work. Something they both probably would have never thought was possible with his recent appearance.  
But apparently, the dog park was looking for some staff. And there was no job on this planet Piers would have more liked to apply to. And like a miracle he got it. Sure, there were things about this job that wasn´t just sunshine, like removing the dog feces from the lawn but every job had its dark sides. They both knew it. On the other side, he had some nice colleges who couldn´t care less about his scars, not to mention that the dogs sure didn´t care as well. He got to help some owners with some training. And surveilling the animals. Sometimes he was allowed to watch out for some puppies when their owners went down the street to get a coffee.

  
He didn´t make a lot of money, sure. But it was at least some support he was able to give to Chris.

  
"Oh! And while you were out here and I had some time on my hands, still..." Piers gesture to a box on the back seat. "I went to the mall and got us some... Christmas decoration!"

  
His tone was so light and happy that Chris swore, right there and here, his dead Christmas spirit spazzed, desperately to kick back to life. "Christmas... decoration...?"

  
He suspiciously eyed the box before he dared to lean back and carefully removed the lid, being instantly greeted by some shining lights and bright colors.

  
"Wait until you see the Christmas tree in the back!"

  
"You bought a Christmas tree?!"

  
"Yeah but it´s just a small one. Cost me around 20 bucks." Piers seemed to be proud of his work and continued to grin as he sped down the road towards their apartment. Ever after the incident with the deer in the woods, the younger one had been slightly scared about driving, especially in the dark. But even that came along great and Piers made now always sure to just drive if he was fully awake and concentrated.

  
Chris looked at him for the longest second before slowly a small smile took his lips and he sat back up straight in his seat. His boyfriend was a blessing.

  
"Thanks, kid.~"

  
"For the tree?"

  
"For all of this..."

  
Piers was about to say something but closed his mouth again. He understood what Chris wanted to say more or less. Instead, he purred: "We´ll decorate the flat together tomorrow, alright? Maybe... I could even bake some cookies..."

  
Chris quietly chuckled after that. "I´d like that. More, though, I´d like to help you with that, babe!"

  
Pies would have leaned over to kiss the other but currently, he was the most responsible driver there was and just when he pulled into a stop in front of their apartment block, did he open his seat belt and gave Chris a peck on the cheek. " You´re the best boyfriend.~"

  
They exchanged some glances before exiting the car, Piers carrying the box. Chris carefully opened the trunk and already was greeted with the sight of a small but bushy and green little tree lying there, filling out the whole luggage space.

  
He was quite pleased to say the least and that goofy grin constantly played around his lips all the way as he carried it up the stairs and into their flat.

  
For now, they just settled everything to the side and would take care of it tomorrow, seeing that it was late. For the rest of the evening, they both rather decided to watch some old, sappy TV soaps with a good bag of popcorn and cuddles on the couch.


	42. This Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a happy Valentine´s Day! And as a present, you can now read a chapter about Christmas preparations. Which doesn´t really fit the mood in like February but why not

_21th of December 2013_

 

  
The next morning, Chris woke up by himself, for once not the annoying ringtone of his alarm ripping him awake. Yesterday had been the last day of school, today winter vacation was starting. He still had one, two meetings with the baseball team later in the week since it wasn´t directly bound to school restrictions but not today. Today would just be him and Piers and some Christmas spirit.

  
Christmas... Immediately, dark memories tried to make their way to the surface of crumbling buildings and tanks in the streets,.. cocoons but this time Chris barely allowed them to flicker shortly in his thoughts before drowning them already.   
Instead, he rolled over, leaning to the other side of the king-sized bed to wrap his broad frame around his boyfriend. But his side was empty.

  
"Hm?" Tired and just half awake, Chris managed to force his eyes open. And sure enough, Piers wasn´t there. Chris frowned but wasn´t too worried. The kid was happy and well like not in a long time, he wouldn´t do anything that would get him in danger. Two months ago, the situation would have been different.

  
And just as he thought that he could hear how the handle of the bedroom was pushed down with the greatest care and how the door was pushed open. Chris considered playing like he was still asleep for a moment but right now, he didn´t feel too playful and turned his head again just the moment a sweet smell filled his nose.  
Piers stood there in the doorway, looking ever so cute and innocent with a tray full of food in his hands.

  
"Good morning!" When the younger one noticed his lover´s awakened state, he immediately made his way over and carefully placed the tray on the bedside. "Made us breakfast, old man!"

  
Briefly, Chris felt like a guest in one of these noble hotels with a butler and breakfast in bed. If it wouldn't have been for the comment about his age. He rubbed his eyes for a moment and used it to collect his thoughts a little so he managed a smile when he looked up again.

  
"I´m able to see that, kid! Well... thank you for that... That´s really nice...~", he ended and grabbed Piers by the wrist, being able to pull the younger one right back into bed.  
He gave a small yelp that turned into a giggle when his boyfriend pressed him tightly against his chest, arms wrapping around him and restricting him to go.

  
"But I woke up here to some empty, cold sheets next to me and that got me really worried..."

  
"Did it now, huh?", Piers mocked before already leaning in for a kiss.

  
It was sweet, it was gentle and it had patience. It resembled that slow morning atmosphere. Chris didn´t get to taste that a whole lot, either because he had to leave his lover or... well, if Piers was one thing then a morning person that liked to be active right away after waking. In more than just one way. Chris didn´t believe he had ever so much morning sex in his whole life than in the short time of dating the younger male.

  
They broke apart shortly after and Chris watched how his lover rolled over to the tray again just to settle it in between the two of them. Brown eyes swayed over it and started sparkling at all the trouble his partner apparently went through to prepare this. Some slices of toast were gathered there just like honey, marmalade and other things to top it, a filled eggcup, some toasted waffles and even fruits.

  
"I didn´t know if you wanted pancakes or not... Made you some waffles instead!", the younger one purred and in moments like these, he really had some resemblance to a loyal dog. Bless this boy.

  
Chris pulled him close just to press his head close to his chest with a hum. "This is outstanding. You didn´t need to do that!"  
Piers relaxed in his arms visibly and shortly looked up before grabbing one of the waffles and eating it himself. "Did it though. So you better enjoy it, you hear me?"

  
With a hearty laugh, Chris nodded and let go of the other, starting to eat as well.   
Saying that it tasted really good was probably an understatement. Piers obviously put his heart into it, saying that they needed a good start into winter vacation and he did it gladly. So Chris enjoyed every bite and barely ten minutes later, Piers grabbed the empty plate, ready to return it to the kitchen but Chris stopped him.

  
"You gonna let your strong husband take care of that or what?" The dumbstruck expression on the other´s face told him it did indeed strike a nerve in him and Chris couldn´t hold back a chuckle as he took it from the sniper and walked over to the kitchen, placing it in the sink.

  
The moment he turned around and wanted to return to his lover in bed was the same moment he was face to face with exactly said one, making him stumble back in surprise, the counter in his back like he felt it once before already. Just in a way less heated situation.

  
"Say it again...!"

  
"What...?"

  
"Just say it again!"

  
"Geeze, fine... I´m gonna be ya husband..."

  
The reaction was immediate and sure, Piers wasn´t physically as broad and big as Chris but he still felt the air leaving his lungs when those arms came to encircle and hold onto him with the biggest strength. It caused Chis to cough and struggle for some release.

  
"Piers...-" "Was this a proposal...?"

  
What?! Wait, did Piers just mean that seriously? There had been so much emotion in his voice, it couldn´t have been a joke. Additional to the lack of air, Chris also felt the spit getting stuck in his throat now. He didn´t mean it like that! At least not yet...

  
Things were complicated and Chris doubted it would even be easy to get married in their situation, even in another state. They had no IDs, no papers...  
Chris nervously chuckled and both his hands found Piers´ arms, gently prying him away.

  
"Not directly. At least not yet... You gotta be patient, alright, puppy...?", he tried with soft eyes and voice and succeeded even if his partner pouted, but at the very least he gave the older one a nod. "Alright, just make up your mind before I die of high age, you hear me?"

  
"Got it!", Chris laughed relieved and held Piers close again now that he knew the other understood. "You wanna put on some Christmas lights now?"

  
Eagerly, the younger one nodded and dragged Chris back into the living room, directly in front of the pile of objects they brought home yesterday. "The tree. We gotta start with the tree!"

  
Piers turned out to be a great help putting up the Christmas tree, holding it in place until Chris had made sure it was standing securely. The younger one cheered often or would giggle, giving the impression he was too much into the Christmas spirit like a child, maybe. He briefly wondered how it had been when Piers had still been one, a child. Maybe he had to make up for some passed by opportunities. It never really sounded like Piers´ childhood was the best. Far from something horrible, sure. But just not the best either.

  
After that, Piers stood in front of it for some long seconds, just letting his eyes wander over it. Chris felt the need to put an arm around him so he did with a satisfied hum. "It´s nothing yet. Wait until the lights are on it, kid!"  
Piers´ head bumped against his shoulder. "I´ll die of joy..."

  
"Nah, if a fucking exploding underwater oil rig isn't killing you, joy certainly won´t either."   
Piers chuckled even if it was a little awkward. But at least it wasn´t painful or scared. Chris believed he was almost over it.   
Chris was just about to drop his head onto Piers´ as well when his boyfriend ripped himself off and walked over to the pile of decoration, fumbling through it. A moment later, he returned with a chain of lights, swaying it between his hands. "You hold one end and I the other...?"

  
"Sure."

  
There was something about it that made it incredibly fun to do this whole thing with Piers. Like they should have done it years ago. In his old house. In their old life. Not that this one was any less growing onto him. Piers was here. How could he ask for anything more?

  
Chris took the end of the lights that Piers extended to him and watched with an amused grin how the boy would walk around the tree a couple of times, forcing his way below or over him, chuckling, regarding how he wanted the lights to hang. Chris let him, he gladly did so. The sniper seemed to enjoy himself quite a bit so he let him.

  
The chain of lights ended at the top where Piers secured it on a branch and Chris knew from one motion of the other´s hand what he had to do and put his end into the power outlet, the tree starting to glow in the next second.   
It was a warm tone of yellow, making you feel cozy by just looking at it. Chris didn´t remember the last time he had seen something comparing to that. He hadn´t bothered to put up a Christmas tree in years. Why would he? He was barely home anyways. Even around holidays.

  
They used to have a Christmas tree at HQ though. It was small and barely stood for maybe two days before someone got rid of it again. Nothing quite like this.

  
Piers laid his head to the side and gave an appreciating sound. Both his hands found his hips. "This is nice! But we can still make this one better!"

  
Chris wasn´t quite sure what Piers brought home from his little shopping trip but the sniper once more let him stand there before getting a cardboard box this time. It wasn´t really big but not small either and the veteran found himself eyeing it all over until it was right in front of him. He allowed himself to reach for the lid and peek inside.

  
There was a set of Christmas baubles starring right back at him, maybe a dozen in number, all neatly and carefully wrapped in some bubble foil. Brown eyes blinked in realization and Chris let the lid fall to the ground, rather reaching for one and pulling it out so it could sparkle in the faint glow of the lights.

  
The one he had was red, even though he saw some green ones in there as well, giving the impression they were mixed. Chris briefly wondered if that was a coincidence or actually not. If it wasn´t, Piers just cracked a nice, silent joke with his name and the trademark color of their former occupation.

  
"I thought the colors were nice. You know, giving that winter feel..."

  
Chris slowly looked up, meeting Piers´ face and just stared for a second. A strong feeling when through Chris´ whole being that struck him like a punch in the gut. A good punch in the gut though. It let his insides melt at the warm, fuzzy intensity as his eyes brushed over Piers´ features, then the softly glowing tree and lastly, the shining, peaceful little ball in his hand.   
With a little sound escaping him, Chris suddenly realized what it was. It felt like home. Not like his old home but... like home. A home that he could stay at, come home to and love in. Even if there was still a huge part of his life removed, like Claire, that still really hurt, this was the way of keeping everyone safe and well. And they would be safe and well.

  
Piers smiled as if he knew all these things happening in Chris´ mind before he went ahead and grabbed a green bauble, holding it close to Chris´ in the air. "The reds are for you... the greens are mine..."

  
Chris didn´t think he could speak even if he attempted it right now. But that was okay, because in the next second Piers already leaned over and kissed him, humming against his lips gently.

  
"Let´s put them on, alright...?"

  
The only response Chris managed was a nod and his partner kneeled in front of the Christmas tree, the box on his lap before he already started putting the first one on the full, green and lushy branches. Chris joined him on the floor, always taking the red baubles and hooking them in all the places they needed to go.

  
They talked a little throughout it. Mainly about their jobs because their social life was still going slow. But people in the dog park were nice as hell so Piers seemed to be on the best way of making friends. Chris reminded him carefully once in a while to rather be suspicious before regretting it but in general, he was more than glad that the former sniper got better and better, almost to the point where Chris would say he appeared happier and more outgoing than before China, before Edonia. Maybe a near-death experience did that to you. Maybe a new relationship did that to you...

  
Chris loved the university as well. He liked to go to his job every day. A job that wouldn´t kill him. The worst that could happen to him was breathing in a fly on the court. (What had happened before, thank you very much.)

  
He liked the people there and the kids. And the kids liked him too, apparently. They would talk to him in the halls, they would ask for his advice on the schoolyard. Sometimes, Chris had the feeling he was some sort of liaison teacher there that the students could talk with about their problems. He didn´t quite know why they seemed to prefer him so much over the other teachers. Maybe it was Chris` mentality, his youthful spirit, because when he was with these kids he felt younger, kinda like in his old school days with all the bullshit he used to do and pranks he´d play. The other teachers lacked that apparently.

  
Well, he could even feel it himself. In breaks, once in a while he would find the teacher´s lounge and try to socialize with the staff there but... it wasn´t quite like in the BSAA. These people were stuck up and bored, maybe stressed to a point where they stopped caring. But it was almost impossible for Chris to connect with these people that didn´t top him that much in age but maturity. Who would give him nothing more than a pitied stare when he would crack a joke. Okay, maybe his jokes were just bad.  
These guys seemed to have forgotten their own young years. They lacked drive and purpose. In that moment Chris was actually glad for his years in danger, so he was able to appreciate every moment of life. Of being alive. Of being more aware of his time on this earth and what was important. Not for one moment would he allow himself to fall into that pit of everyday boredom and grayness.

  
So he stayed with the kids outside during breaks. They still had perspective and hope and creativity. Until that would also fade away one day. At least they appreciated his bad dad jokes. Sometimes...

  
After some time, all the Christmas balls hung on the tree, perfectly in place and evenly. Chris watched Piers out of the corner of his eyes, how the kid longingly stared at the picture before him. And it truly did look amazing. Like a Christmas tree should look like.

  
But it seemed like something was still missing for Piers because he frowned before getting up and walking a final time over to the bag. He pulled something out but Chris could hardly see anything with Piers standing towards him with his back.   
"What ya got there, puppy?"

  
A moment later, he turned around, a small yellow star in his hand. Chris blinked and was momentarily speechless so Piers walked over and sat down on the ground next to Chris again.   
"I made this one myself though... Based it off of a tutorial on the internet but... I guess it didn´t come out just quite the same..."

  
Chris´ eyes traveled over Piers´ open palm. 

  
"It´s nothing big... I mean it doesn´t glow or anything. It´s just... paper..."

  
It was clearly folded out of colored paper. You could see how Piers gave it his best, the paper was still here and there a little messily folded and dried glue had been oozing out of the corners.   
Neither the less, this was the coolest thing he had seen for quite some time and so much more and better than Chris probably could have achieved. So he reached for it, taking it from the sniper with a feather-light touch and carefully turning it all around in his hands. He could feel hazel eyes solely resting on him and when he looked up again, Piers almost looked a little scared.

  
"This is awesome, kid. It looks really good and well-made, don´t worry about it... I really love it..."

  
His words couldn´t really describe just how flattered it made Chris feel but at least it got Piers grinning from ear to ear and he knew that the other understood how he had meant it.

  
"Thank you... I´m so glad you like it..." He leaned over, kissing Chris again like so many times on that day. "Y-You wanna put it on the tree...? Like together?"

  
"You betcha, hell yeah!"

  
Both of them got up and Chris extended the star to his lover so he could reach for a corner. They both placed it together, leaning it carefully against the branch at the tip so it would hold.   
"Now it´s pretty...", the younger one carefully whispered and leaned against Chris who felt that warm, fuzzy feeling again, humming and nodding in agreement.

 

  
\----------------------------------------

 

 

  
When Chris entered the kitchen around 20 minutes later, the first thing he noticed was the radio blaring some loud and ridiculously happy Christmas tunes. It´s been so long since he heard any Christmas songs but it was all the same stuff every year so he had no big problems placing the songs. God, it reminded him how his whole family used to sit under the tree, Claire singing along horribly off tune. At the same time, his mother would try it too but actually sound like a real singer with good melody and voice. And the loving look his father would give her at that...

  
Piers stood there at the counter, looking like he had an easy time following the recipe sprawled out in front of him as he cracked some eggs into a bowl.

  
"I´m surprised we didn´t hear 'Last Christmas' yet.", he murmured not even turning around. He still had sensed his presence. Sniper blood, Chris guessed.

  
"Oh, don´t worry, it´s coming..." Chris chuckled and continued to approach, standing next to Piers in a heartbeat. "Uh, you´re making some with chocolate chips...!" Immediately, Chris' voice picked up three octaves, making it sound way too high and delightful for his age and built.

  
Piers just gave him a flat stare from the corner of his eyes. "I didn´t forget the way you looked at them at HQ, the last time they had them." Piers reached for some flour, carefully measuring it.

  
"That´s... been like an eternity, Piers..." It had to be. At least before last year, Edonia.

  
"Well, you just don´t know how long I´ve already been looking out for you!"

  
Chris stilled at that and frowned. When he recruited Piers in the middle of 2009, the sniper had been quiet, almost silent most of the time. It took Chris two weeks to figure out even why. Piers had simply not been allowed to share his thoughts with higher ranks without permission before. Chris had been in the Air Force, sure, but apparently, the Special Forces had their own military rules and they had been strict.

  
Quite some time passed by before Chris had finally been able to drill that family mentality into the younger one´s skull. Talk with your brothers in arms, share your thoughts and watch out for everyone´s back, then someone else will have your back as well.

  
As it turned out, Piers was pretty fucking good at it. He opened up, still laughed far less than the others but he had the heart in the right place, no doubt. And the process of teaching Piers all these things had led to a strong bond that had formed between them. Piers would look at him from the corner of his eyes, watch the Captain´s performance in training especially well. But then again, all the rookies did that and Chris had been sure all Piers had felt for him for the longest time had been admiration.

  
Now he wasn´t so sure anymore. When exactly in time did Piers start fancying him like that? Did he really not say anything for that long...? Because if he did, then... that must have been painful. Chris himself didn´t quite remember everything about Edonia or a short period of time before that, so he couldn´t even say if he liked Piers at the time like that. He just knew that his feelings had picked up immensely after Piers´ ultimate sacrifice and his rescue.

  
Damn, had it hurt to fall in love with someone who just died for you.

  
"...How long...?" The older one suddenly asked, looking up from the bowl that Piers roughly stirred, to meet that beautiful face that purposefully avoided his with a grin. It looked a little off though. His whole expression looked a little off.

  
Just reluctantly did Piers start to talk. "...I remember getting called to the conference room, my Captain had pulled me out of training earlier. No one told me a thing so I was scared shitless. I always was worried about my performance. I was good, I was the best of the best, I knew. But I lacked a cause and was afraid my lack of motivation started to show in my actions..." He made a longer break as he pulled a metal sheet out with some baking paper. Chris waited patiently.

  
"So I sat there, alone, since the Captain said he´d get someone special to meet me. That didn´t really put me at ease and I never shifted around so nervously on a chair before. Suddenly the door opens and he comes in. But he´s not alone. He steps to the side and Chris Redfield comes into the room." At that, he broke into an even broader grin. "I knew him, of course. He was a legend. I read literature about him, how he brought down Albert Wesker, the biggest bioterrorist in history. So I sat there, starstruck and he came over. I barely managed to stand up and salute in time before he grabbed my hand. He had a strong handshake. I... still don´t remember completely how everything played out after this, my mind wasn´t really there but he offered me to work with him."

  
Chris frowned. "First you didn´t even fucking want to."

  
"Yes, because I knew I could only disappoint you."

  
Chris understood the hidden message that it carried. That Piers didn´t think he could have met his standards. God... the boy had thought of him as some kind of fucking superhero...

  
"That´s not true..."

  
"Well, I know that now! Try to tell that to 22-year-old Piers who had a crush on the most important man in the BSAA."  
Chris blinked at that, not really knowing how to react to that. Piers just let him as he pushed the cookies into the oven, checking the clock before shifting his attention to his boyfriend.

  
"The thing is... when you just know someone from fucking TV or stories... you tend to romanticize them. They´re perfect, they have no flaws because no one ever talks about them. Just the good they did in the world. That was the case for you from my perspective. You were a role model, an idol. You brought down Umbrella, you made the world aware of the dangers and wiped out most of them. No one told me you were stubborn and reckless, and ridiculously stupid sometimes."

  
Chris raised an eyebrow as if he didn´t agree but let the other continue.

  
"Just when I started working with you, did I realize why you needed a partner. You need someone to hold you back, to make you understand that you´re gonna get yourself killed otherwise. That was too much in the beginning, I didn´t want to be the one who´s responsible if you don´t make it home eventually. But I learned to grow with that. It´s my duty you get out alive at any cost. Now... you can guess what was the only thing on my mind down in China..."

  
"Piers..."

  
But said one just shook his head, looking like he just came to a revelation himself. "But all this doesn´t matter now anymore, because... Chris, I never wanna go back to that hell ever again..."

  
"We don´t have to..." With that, he came closer, wrapping Piers in a tight hug, holding him as close as he could and dammit, he felt Piers lightly shaking in his grip. He was scared. And if he was honest, so was Chris. China was still fresher than he thought. And maybe these dark feelings would never really leave them.

  
Chris tugged Piers´ head against his chest and thankfully the shaking subsided slowly. They stood like that a short while and just when he wanted to release the other, a familiar tune reached their ears and Piers, in his arms, even quietly chuckled in a weird sense of humor.

 

  
_Last Christmas I gave you my heart_

  
_But the very next day you gave it away_

  
_This year, to save me from tears_

  
_I'll give it to someone special_


	43. Past Memories

 

_2009_

 

 

"Nivans."

Piers whirled around, his eyes falling from the target at the end of the lane, that he had just blown bullet after bullet into, to his commanding officer, Charles Johnson. He wanted to frown, not one reason coming to his mind why he would approach him while practicing. But his instinct kicked in faster and he saluted hastily. Not that he could have allowed himself anything else. Johnson was a strict motherfucker.

"Yes, sir!"

"There is something urgent going on that needs your attention. Drop the training for now."

His bones acted all on their own, they always did when Johnson was around. It was better to do what he was told fast than thinking about any motion at all. Piers dropped his rifle to the small table at his side.

"Yes, sir." He allowed himself to let his eyes travel over the gun for a moment. It was a nice sniper rifle, really good model and he liked shooting with it. But unfortunately, it wasn´t completely his and he had to return it after every training session because guns belonged to the force and no one had a personal gun in here. You didn't just 'own' a gun here, you take the one they give you.

Unfortunately, Piers just noticed his mistake too late and Johnson growled. "You gonna stare at that thing all day?! You wanna marry it, soldier?! Move your ass over to the conference room!"

Piers didn´t even flinch anymore at the change of tone. He used to. But you get used to everything, he supposed. So he nodded shortly, just walked past him and was more than happy to leave.

He exited the training ground and made his way over the compound. It was relatively chilly for the beginning of May. All the same, the sky was blue and clear. The gravel under his heavy boots resounded through the air and Piers shortly had some time to ask himself why he was called to the conference room.

He didn´t do anything wrong, now did he? Was maybe Captain Johnson unsatisfied with his performance? He wouldn´t be surprised. You couldn´t make that guy happy.

Maybe he had just grown too bad at this job too. He remembered how his father chose this location for him, had pulled strings for him to get in and even smiled fondly at him when he managed, something Piers couldn´t remember him doing in ages. Yes, he and all of his family were proud that he was now a sniper in the Special Forces. And not even a bad one. He had talent.

It was just himself who began to feel like it was not enough. He followed his duty every day with the biggest care, still gave it his best and everything. But... he started to lose the goal in front of his eyes. Why he did it. Sure, to save lives. But he didn´t feel like his work had an impact. Even if he was in the field, as a sniper he was required to lay still in some bushes hours for a day, maybe just to fire one shot then.

He had known all this when he signed up. But now it began to drag him down. And there was no one he talked with that about either. His family was too proud for that. And people on base didn´t like him enough for that. How should he even establish any relationship with anyone if he just laid around all day by himself anyway? And on base, they ignored him, maybe driven away by his exorbitant skill and exceptional talent. He wasn´t one of them. No brother in arms.

Piers reached the main building and forced himself to remain a clear head. The situation that was laid before him was maybe a difficult one and he had to think clearly if he wanted to talk his way out of it.

He followed the long corridors leading throughout the big building. He encountered some of the other soldiers, some that he knew, some he didn´t. Neither the less, one thing always stayed the same, they never greeted him. Piers was over the point of caring though. He was used to that type of behavior towards his person.

'Conference Room', it read over one of the doors Piers was already familiar with and he was about to shove it open and enter when another voice called out to him. Piers turned to face one of the commanding officers of another team. The sniper knew him visually but couldn´t even remember a name to that face even if he tried.

The man looked old, way older than Johnson and he had heard rumors that he was about to retire. Which would be a shame because that man at least still seemed to have a backbone.

"So you´re nervous, kiddo?", he casually asked and leaned onto the doorframe, blocking Piers´ way, maybe intentionally.

Piers still showed him the necessary respect and saluted, taking a step back. "Permission to speak freely?"

"I wouldn't have asked you otherwise, now would I?" The nameless man apparently liked to make Piers feel dumber than the ace actually was, so he just pretended he didn´t hear that. "If I´m fully honest, sir, I don´t even know why I´m here?" 

"You don´t know why you´re here?!" A booming laugh escaped the other and Piers would have liked to cover his ears but restrained himself just barely. "Kiddo, Johnson didn´t tell you shit?!"

"No."

He felt a strong hand clasping his shoulder with a strength that almost caused Piers to double over. Dammit, he hated older men who thought they deserved respect just because they had a higher rank but a dickish personality.

"Nivans, let me tell you one thing...", he leaned in close and Piers felt the physical need to get away, take a step to the side, anything. "You´re in for a wild ride and you don´t even know it!" He laughed again and this time with the distance to his ear, Piers actually flinched.

"From what I heard you´re gonna meet someone today that´s gonna change your life. Someone, that is actually really well known, is on his way here to meet up with you. I heard he had an hourlong talk with Johnson until the old fucker would let you go!"

"L-Let me go...?"

This was it. He had been screwing up. The Special Forces were getting rid of him. But to where? Someone really well known? Maybe they would deploy him to a different branch. A thousand scenarios were playing out in the sniper´s head and suddenly he felt the touch on his shoulder subsiding. It got him to look up in soft features.

"Yeah, you´re destined to do something bigger with your life. I´ve seen it. Everyone else´ seen it. You´re a good soldier, Nivans. Outstandingly so. Maybe even a little too overqualified, even for the Special Forces. So they found you a real challenge."

Piers had questions. Still a lot of them. But before he could speak up, the other had turned around and walked down the hallway. And there was nothing Piers could do about it. Calling after him would have been disrespectful. So Piers swallowed that weird feeling in his stomach, dread now also paired up with confusion and eventually, he pushed the door open, it suddenly felt a ton heavier than it usually did.

15 minutes. It´s been 15 minutes since he had sat down in this unbelievably uncomfortable chair, his hands just crossed in his lap, his eyes on the ceiling. When did Johnson exactly thought of coming here?

He had been here a few times, one of them being his recruitment. When he, Johnson, his father and a few more higher-ups had sat scattered around this ridiculously long, black table, no one saying a word for ages until just a contract was pushed around, scribbly signings all over the paper here and there.

Other occasions had been meetings, plans but he never understood why he was invited to such a thing, he wasn´t allowed to say a word on his own opinion anyway.

Now it would also mark the end of his career here, Piers was sure of it. They would throw him out. And his father would kill him. Literally, not metaphorically.

A moment later, the door opened. Without a knock or any other means of him getting prepared. The sniper jumped lightly on his seat when it forcefully got shoved open in one go, revealing Johnson´s ever so serious and pissed face. He had a way of making you feel guilty without you even doing shit. Piers felt like he shrank in size right there on this chair.

He didn´t exactly know if he should greet him or not but Johnson made that decision easy on him when the Captain saluted briefly and spoke.

"Nivans, this is your lucky day. And when I say you´re lucky, I mean it. You actually don´t deserve that honor but that´s just my opinion and in this matter, it hardly gets any attention. There are more important people speaking."

Piers swallowed nervously, not sure about any of this situation.

"One of them voiced the wish to see you. Nivans, that´s Chris Redfield from the BSAA."

Piers´ blood froze at the mention of that name. He knew it. He knew that name.

Johnson finally walked into the room, took a step to the side and held his salute in regards to the man that stepped past him a moment later.

Heavy footsteps resounded from the tiles. They were slow but still held a certain degree of agility in them. Thick, black boots caused them and Piers couldn't find the courage to lift his gaze. That couldn´t be. It absolutely wasn´t possible. Period.

"I gotta admit, you do have a pretty rough tone with your soldiers. He always talking like that with you, kid?"

That was the voice. The voice he had heard countless of times through any transmission on the radio or TV. And it was solely aimed at him.

Finally, his eyes snapped upwards in the frantic need to know if this was all a giant joke or actually real. But no. Right there, maybe two metes away stood, in fact, Chris Redfield. His role model. His legend. His giant crush ever since he got his hands on a book for the first time where this hunk of a man got mentioned.

And fuck it all to hell, he was as handsome as he imagined him and later saw on TV. Chocolate brown eyes that were just melting his heart away in seconds. These short, brown locks that had a wild note on them but still looked kept and cared for. These strong features, that stubbled chin. The way his muscles would move just from him breathing under the casual shirt and jeans he was wearing, that certainly didn´t look like protocol. Just everything about him. Was so perfect.

Why was he here? Why was he talking to him? Goddammit, why just now? Why not years ago?! Piers suddenly felt like all this time he didn´t truly live and he might as well just fallen head over heels for someone. A strange feeling. But fuck... Yes...

Piers was aware he wasn´t like his fellow soldiers and other men. He was aware of it ever since school. He wouldn´t tease the girls like the others, trying to score dates. No, he was gay and the only chance he had of not getting fucked over by that fact was staying in the closet. That led him to a problem of not really knowing how romance worked but Piers was fast to shove all of these thoughts out of his mind. They were unnecessary. He shouldn´t think them now. It wouldn't get him anywhere.

Fuck, Mr. Redfield was probably straight as fuck. He had to.

Piers never found anything on the older´s love life no matter how hard he looked. (No, he was NOT obsessed.) But that probably just meant he didn´t want his girlfriend in trouble. His girlfriend, Nivans! So stop!

 He realized this godly creature raising an eyebrow by the lack of response and Piers started stuttering. Fuck, he had said something, didn´t he?! He hadn´t been listening, just paying attention to how his lips had moved. God, those lips. They were thin but still looked soft and Piers just wanted to...

"Is he alright...?"

This time it was Johnson who Chris addressed and said one shrugged. "Soldier, show your respect!"                                                                                                                                                                   

Immediately, Piers scrambled to manage a sloppy salute. "I`m sorry! I didn´t mean to disrespect!"

"It´s okay." Chris laughed. That laugh... Fuck everyone else´s laugh, that´s the one Piers needed in his life. "I´m used to people being a little... 'intimidated' when I come into the room." This man, that Piers decided to refer to from now on as 'perfection', came striding over now suddenly and Piers´ eyes went wide and he got more and more nervous the closer he came. He looked even better up close...

He suddenly got painfully aware of his own appearance that probably looked downright horrible. He came right out of training, he was sweaty and surely also damn smelly. Fuck. Shit.

A million things went through the sniper's head that he could say. Should he even say something?! A hand was extended to him though and Piers met the other´s gaze uncertainly. There was a gentle smile on those lips. Fuck, those lips. Fuck, this smile. Despite his knees feeling way too weak suddenly, Piers went for it and took Chris´ hand and shook it once or twice.

...That was a strong, fucking handshake and Piers kept in the internal squeal that was happening in his mind. That guy could probably crack some walnuts in his bare palm. They probably could be just as delicate at the same time though. He didn't want to begin to imagine all the possibilities.

Keep it together, Piers. That was just... Chris motherfucking Redfield, just casually standing in front of you, no biggie. Try not to focus on all the times you imagined this moment happening.

 Chris pulled his hand back and the loss of contact immediately spawned a feeling inside the younger one that screamed at him to regain it. But Chris was talking now. This time, try to at least catch something of the things he´s saying.

"Alright, maybe you want me to explain the situation at hand to you a bit." He sat down now, opposite to him just like Johnson and Piers hurried to do the same, feeling awkward and staggering in the presence of the other he looked up to for so long.

"The thing is... not too long ago the BSAA had a mission in West-Africa. Our Alpha Team got wiped out there. Despite the circumstances being very grim, it gave me the possibility of a promotion as Captain of that team. Well, it´s logical now that we have to establish some new members to said team."

Brown eyes flickered over him and Piers briefly felt like suffocating. He didn´t mean...

"I have very little experience as a Team Leader but I certainly know a good and skilled person when I see one. I´m sure Captain Johnson discussed with you the reasons for me being here..." Actually, he did not and Piers didn´t feel too sure how to answer that question so he just shrugged what got Chris to raise an eyebrow in return.

"You´re not the most talkative, huh?" He wanted to protest, he really wanted but he knew better than to interrupt someone of high rank. "Doesn´t matter, though. I´m not here to find someone who can talk big but get the job done. I heard your sniping is outstanding, Nivans. And I happen to be on the lookout for a good one. Your file said you´re young but quite experienced and not a person even gets close to your level. I came here to make myself an image and I´m quite pleased until now. You wouldn´t mind giving me a small taste...?"

A small taste? What kind of small taste...? Goddammit, this wasn´t the time to think about something like that. There were more important things going on right now, like... Redfield wanting him under him... Working under him!

"Sir, I... I actually struggle to understand. I am by no means the best sniper around..." There had to be better ones, right? Someone that actually cared about what he was doing.

"But you are! Your stats are amazing and now that I meet you, you seem really fitting for the job. A little modest, I like that in a person. You just have to learn some more to not question my decisions. Believe me, that´s gonna be important!", he smirked and Piers feared, from the heat of his face, that he was blushing but no one said a thing so he might as well imagined it.

"O-Okay... I guess I can show you a little...", the sniper nodded reluctantly and instantly, Chris´ smile got broader. Fuck... Piers averted his eyes to Johnson in hopes to cool down a little but the frown on said one´s face was as far away as pretty compared to Chris as he could think. So he rather looked at Chris.

Said one stood up hastily. "Where are your shooting lanes located?", he asked bluntly in the room, not really talking with Piers but not really addressing Johnson either. Piers wasn´t too sure if he was allowed to but he raised his voice instead. "I could show you..."

Johnson gave a little grunt as if he hated that he wasn´t even asked for permission but Piers felt strangely safe as long as he was with Chris.

"Would you?"

Chris walked around the table, coming to stand next to Piers as if he wanted him to get up already and lead him. The sniper didn´t really have much of a choice and did just that, both leaving the room and Johnson behind. He certainly had to get used to the thought of being in big trouble later for that act of disrespect.

When they reached to shooting lane Piers had just left half an hour earlier, the younger one was hell-bent on showing Chris the performance of his life as he grabbed his sniper rifle again.

"Okay, kid. I´ll just be standing here. Pretend you´re alone or something.", Chris offered with a smile and took a step to the side to let Piers work as he pleased.

Piers had done this a million times and also with an audience or someone that would judge him. Just that it never was so important like right now. Or Chris Redfield.

"I´ll... give it my best...", he assured and turned towards his target that never seemed to be so far away than this time around.

But he didn´t have any time to lose and alined his shot. He barely took a second to aim.

_Wham_

First shot, first hit. Bull's eye. And Chris had to learn really fast, from there on, that there wasn´t much that Piers couldn´t hit head-on. In fact, he always did, without exception.

His shots came so fast as if he didn´t aim at all, yet his accuracy said something entirely different. Chris could just stand there with crossed arms and watch in amazement how Piers blasted all these targets away perfectly. In the departure of sniping, his skill might be even superior to Chris´.

The whole show of bravado just barely took a few minutes of their time, that was all Chris really needed to see before he stepped next to the sniper, looking down the lane and seeing all these shots that spoke for themselves.

"Damn, kid... Color me impressed! Like really impressed!"

Piers managed a smile even though his breathing was more than heavy and he ran a gloved hand through his hair that started to fall into his face, in hopes of at least still looking a little presentable. "Thank you, sir!"

Chris turned his way and Piers´ breath stopped once more with a tingly feeling in his stomach. Hopefully, that would go away one day, it would only complicate things if he really, ever got to work with Chris. God knew he really wanted to...

A card was pressed into his palm, stating in a nice and elegant font 'Christopher Redfield' and an address, even a telephone number. Fuck, technically he could call Chris now. He tried to not imagine calling him in the middle of the night, starting out with some small talk and trying to get more out of this...

"You´re surpassing everything I thought I´d find and... my team still needs some support in the higher levels... You know what, small change of plans. You wouldn´t be interested in applying for my second in command, right?"

Second... in... command...?!


	44. It Finds A Way

 

_24th of December 2013_

 

His breath came out in little white puffs and he took a moment to appreciate it. Until that and the snow reminded him of something that happened a year ago but he snapped just as fast out of the memory as he entered it.

He had to find Piers and that proved to be damn difficult if the sniper didn´t want to be found. Chris´ eyes scanned around his surroundings once more but there was no trace of the younger one, no footprints in the snow, no other marks like the color of his clothing against the white, nothing.

The park was unusually empty on a Christmas Eve, if not totally abandoned. Of course it was, Chris could imagine a lot of people spending time with their loved ones now even if it was still fairly early. So would he have done with his sister. Maybe Jill would have come over or Barry with his family. But as things were now, Piers and he were completely alone. And as much as Chris would have thought that would mess him up, especially after last year, he found himself getting over it quite easily. Especially when the other had suggested going for a walk in the park. He had agreed, liking that change of pace and free time to spend with his lover.

That is until said one had decided to play a game Chris didn´t really wanted to be part of and vanished in the blink of an eye when Chris had done so much as turned around.

And even infected and out of training, Piers knew how to become one with his environment and stay hidden. If it had to be for hours. No matter the weather or any other factors.

Chris took his steps slow, trying to reduce any sound as much as possible. If that was how Piers wanted to play this, he could go ahead and try to surprise his Captain some. The snow crunched under his boots neither less and Chris wasn´t really covering much ground with this method of walking and, as he finally came to a path where the snow was a little removed, his luck still didn´t pay out when he had sneaked over to a bush and peeked around it.

Just that it hushed some birds into the air and Chris´ eyes went wide at his mistake of blowing his position but no time to even turn around before a hand reached around him, finding his face and smearing it with a load of snow.

Immediately, he struggled and aimed a punch in the direction he was simultaneously turning around to but it connected with thin air. He heard a chuckle and both his gloved hands met his face, rubbing it fiercely while Chris suppressed the urge to gag, his mouth having to take some of that.

"I told you, you´re just getting old!"

"I just hope for your wellbeing that wasn´t yellow snow, kid!"

"Well, we are close to the dog park..."

Eventually, Chris managed to get it off his face and out of his eyes so he could properly take in that cockily smirking figure there in front of him. Four years passing by and Chris realized that that image had come a long way to what was in the beginning.

Chris felt the urge for a little play fight suddenly with Piers´ confident pose and expression. Without retorting anything, he bent down, reached for some snow and formed it in his hands. Piers, of course, knew immediately where that would be heading and growled with a smirk.

"Don´t you dare to do this, bear... You wouldn´t know how to finish what you´re about to start...!"

As soon as the words finished leaving his mouth, Piers already had to duck away from a flying ball of freezing snow. Of course, none of the two were about to back away from a challenge. So Piers did the same, throwing with deadly precision but Chris was fast. Damn fast.

He found shelter behind the bush that just had betrayed him so horribly. He managed to cower his whole broad form behind it and for a long moment, everything was totally silent. Piers was probably considering his next actions. Chris did so as well as he picked up a little bit of snow already, as a precaution should Piers just dash around the corner right now.

This was damn fun and Chris had trouble holding back a chuckle at the situation. Them, two grown men, playing in the snow like pre-schoolers.

Okay, where was Piers...? Chris pressed the ball to his chest and carefully raised his head from behind to bush to peek around. The whole meadow was empty. Not that Chris had expected the sniper to just keep standing there, making the easiest of targets.

Piers had to have found some cover himself. The question was just where? The pavement had trees next to it here and there and there were even more bushes out there like Chris´. His brown eyes darted all around and suddenly there was a really good-looking face peeking around one of the trees, probably trying to locate Chris just like he did.

The moment he spotted him was the moment he was already throwing at him. Chris had a deadly precision hence to all his years in the force but a snowball was a snowball, not a hand grenade. That, plus the fact that Piers knew how to dodge, let Chris hit the tree instead of his lover.

Immediately, he scrambled to collect some more snow, his eyes not letting up from the tree, he couldn´t risk any sneaky maneuvers from Piers.

"How about you give up? We both know how this is gonna end!", he yelled over to the other and he could swear he heard a snort even from that distance.

"With me kicking your ass?"

"No, with you kissing it because you´ll be horribly sorry after this."

"Uh, kinky."

This time it was Chris who couldn´t help but snort. That kid.

Chris tried to shift in his position, maybe finding an angle in which he could better see but he felt that he couldn´t. Something on his neck was holding him down. He peeked down to see his scarf that got tangled in some branches. And Chris growled when he realized that he couldn't just pull free, it looked like a pretty strong and messy knot.

Chris threw one last look over to Piers´ tree to make sure that the other was still doing nothing before he let the snow fall out of his hand and both his hands started working on the knot.

The scarf had wrapped itself around a pretty strong branch a couple of times and Chris fiddled with it for some long seconds, the anxiety growing in him with each passing moment with the familiarity of knowing an enemy around but not being able to see it.

He was losing time here and he hated it. In the end, he didn´t get too far and growled in irritation before both his hands found the branch, blatantly breaking it off the bush in frustration.

"You´re not really made for these things, eh?" The realization hit him that losing the other´s tree out of his eye had been a horrible mistake. The second he did today. Maybe he was indeed getting rusty these days. Not that it still mattered in their new kind of life.

Chris´ head shot up, seeing Piers standing there right in front of him, still that cocky smile, still that same goddamn expression. Fuck, he was still good at sneaking like not a day went by. And Chris wasn´t missing the way Piers was playing with a snowball in his hand, throwing it up and catching it again and again.

"What do you mean, I´m totally in control of the situation... Doesn´t it look like it?"

"Not really. Actually, I´m almost certain you´re gonna have to kiss ass later on?~", he smirked and kept going before Chris could answer. "Even though the scarf looks cute on you, you´d just have to know how to rock it!"

Chris growled in reply but his eyes went wide when Piers gripped the snowball tightly. "Oh no! You don´t dare!"

"But I do!"

Chris scrambled to get his hands on his earlier ball as well, to defend himself at least a little but he couldn´t even reach it anymore before the cold sow hit him on his jaw, making him groan and turn his head away in reflex.

Shit, that had been a big one and Chris felt the stinging sensation on that spot, both from the impact and the cold. His hand wandered there, covering it but it couldn´t stop some of it running under his scarf and even into his shirt, the snow immediately melting and freezing his skin.

"Ugh, fuck!" With a grunt, Chris tried to get up but Piers was on him a second later, pushing him over and straddling his waist. Chris could probably find the strength to push him off and he probably should do it, especially after what he just did, but Chris just couldn´t find the heart to. The worst thing was Piers knowing that he´d let him and smirking right into his face.

The veteran needed some seconds to come to it, the sudden cold feeling on his back distracting him just like the pulsing of his jaw but when he focused, he spotted a second snowball in the younger one´s hand, probably his own from the ground.

For a long moment, no one said a word. Then,

"Piers... put that away."

"Are you gonna surrender?~"

Chris hesitated. They both knew how big the ego of their partner was and defeat wasn´t really an option here... And the more Chris waited, the closer that cold thing came to his face. But the words just wouldn´t leave him, instead both his hands reached for the other´s waist and he was about to shove him off. But Piers noticed it instantly and suddenly Chris had a face full of snow for a second time on that day.

"Ugh, stop!", Chris yelled through the bright giggle and eventually managed to turn them both around, his strength and weight making it no problem to hold Piers down even when he began struggling. "You had your fun!"

Immediately, Piers ceased in his motion and looked up at him with big eyes. It hit something in Chris but the older already knew the puppy-eye-strategy and sighed.

"Y-You´re not gonna do anything bad to me, right?", Piers continued and Chris would have almost rolled his eyes at the faked innocence.

"Just what you deserve... ya had it coming to ya!"

Chris blindly reached for a hand of snow, still being able to secure Piers´ wrists with one hand.

"No, wait! I´m sorry...", he heard from beneath him and he briefly looked into these worried eyes but pushed it away. Maybe he was being a bit of a sadist right now but he couldn´t help but smirk as he pushed it into the other´s face, twisting it a bit around to meet every corner with his lover squirming and struggling beneath his body.

He let go again, most of the snow fell to the floor. His other hand let go of his wrists as well and Piers´ arms shot to his face, rubbing it with a whine. "Nooo..."

Despite Piers having full control of his arms again, he didn´t shove Chris away which said one surprised actually. Instead, Piers blinked up at him after he removed most of the snow and a small smile crossed his lips. It was contagious and Chris found himself doing exactly the same.

Without thinking about it, Chris´ hand reached out and brushed some snow away that still rested on Piers´ face. The gesture was more gentle and loving than you´d think after what just happened.

Piers closed his eyes and leaned into it.

Some seconds passed by like that before Piers reached for his face with both his hands and Chris briefly thought he was in for some more snow, but the sniper simply got a hold of it, pulling him closer to his own for a kiss.

Piers bit the older one's lips after some time and Chris let him, enjoying the intimate feeling as both his hands found the ground left and right from Piers´ head so he could lean even closer. Piers still continued to hold his face in place, not letting Chris escape even if he wanted to. Tongues started to move and teeth began to touch lightly, giving Chris the feeling that they maybe should head home...

 "I´m kinda cold...", Piers whispered low when they eventually parted a little, their white breath mingling from their closeness, just like lips that still brushed against each other while he talked.

"I could warm you up real fast...", Chris sent him a half-lidded stare. "It sounds weird but you´d have to get rid of some clothes first..."

Piers chuckled from the innuendo and let go of Chris´ face, his hands lazily falling to his sides. "Sounds good. Would sound even better if we were at home and not in the park...!~"

Chris understood, his expression returning to a bit more serious note. "Alright, puppy, let´s get you inside." With that, Chris pushed himself up with a groan before reaching for Piers´ hand, pulling the sniper up without said one having to do much.

 

\---

Despite their words, both of them didn´t find the will to return to their apartment right away. As soon as they started moving again, Piers warmed up a bit and insisted on continuing their little walk, seeing in Chris´ eyes how it eased his pain of the date and all the memories he linked with that day.

Christmas Eve was supposed to be a nice day and Piers was sure that Chris still loved it somewhere inside, he was just too traumatized to really outlive it.

Alpha Team´s death had hit Piers hard as well, it were his comrades just like they had been Chris´. Piers just had other circumstances of dealing with the loss.

While Chris got hit on the head and suffered some serious post-traumatic-amnesia, plus the six months in a foreign country without memory, Piers was able to approach the issue realistically. Sure, he had all his hands full with tracking down Chris, bringing him back into duty but in the morning or late evening he would often think about it and ask himself what Finn, Andy, Ben and Carl would have done and the answer was horribly simple.

They would have concentrated on the search for Chris and made him come back. Because without Chris there was no Alpha.

In the following months, he didn´t have much space in his days to mourn their deaths but that was okay because he knew it wouldn´t change a thing. Asking questions about how things could have gone differently were literally not changing the outcome. There was nothing Piers could have done but honoring their sacrifice. That had been his reason.

Chris was an entirely different story.

He had been lost, didn´t know where to go, how to behave, didn´t even know how to speak the language. He had been stuck in a life he didn´t understand or remembered. For him everything had been upside down and just when things started to fall back into place, it brought also back the realization that his whole entire team at his hands had been wiped out of existence.

He didn´t have a chance to mourn and progress because he literally didn´t remember the event, then it came back with full force.

Piers tried to be there for him now, did his best, and he dared to go ahead and say that he wasn´t doing too bad.

Their walk continued until late that afternoon as they finally arrived back home, entered the flat with a laugh from both their throats. They removed their thick jackets and Piers brewed them some tea.

It felt so damn simple to turn on the lights of the Christmas tree and the TV to some old, extremely sappy Christmas movie while the radio from the kitchen was quietly singing in the background things like 'Driving Home For Christmas'.

Piers entered the living room again and extended a mug towards Chris who took it with a soft look in his eyes. And Piers couldn´t help but notice how much better Chris looked from before a few days ago as he sat next to him on the carpet right before the tree.

They kept quiet for some long time, just watching a Christmas episode of 'The Nanny' while it got darker and darker outside, the rest of the day passing by like a flash, occasionally taking a sip of their hot tea that helped to get the last bit of coldness out of their bones.

Chris began to notice how Piers´ gaze more and more often wandered over to the clock on the wall, staring at it as if he was expecting something. Out of curiosity, he peeked as well. Half past 8. He brought his attention back to the TV and squinted his eyes in uncertainty.

Should he already go for it? It seemed like a good time for it.

But before he could speak up, he felt his lover´s hand on his shoulder. He turned towards Piers and he smiled so sweetly up at him.

"Chris,... can you do me a favor and get my blanket from the bedroom? I´m kinda cold.."

Chris frowned before grinning and leaning over. "I said I could warm you up.~" But it wasn't having the desired effect when Piers leaned a little away in response. "No... Bring me my blanket...!", he insisted.

That got a second frown from Chris but he already shrugged and realized that that actually was quite convenient. He had needed to go to the bedroom anyways...

He pushed himself to his feet and went down the short hallway, entering the room and heading for the closet instead of the blanket on the bed. He pushed it open and reached for a box he had hidden there, beneath a pile of his clothes. He turned it a little in his hands, watching it briefly from all sides. He had wrapped it in Christmas paper already, had done so days ago when Piers was in the dog park.

It could have been tidier but Chris really gave it his best. It was sad to say but even after years of wrapping presents for Claire, it still didn´t look as pretty as it could be probably. Chris sighed a little but reminded himself how much more important it was what was inside rather than how it was wrapped.

His eyes found the white, fluffy blanket that Piers requested him to get and he wrapped it a little around the box and turned on his heels to surprise his boyfriend. The moment he stepped into the room everything looked just like he left it from what he could see and he nervously cleared his throat, returning to his place next to Piers.

"Here...", he just said and noticed how tense his voice sounded. If he already heard it... Piers indeed frowned but reached for it neither less, pulling it to his chest and uncovering the box in the other´s arms in the process.

For a moment, they both were silent and Chris was almost scared to look. Piers was staring down at it, blinking surprised. There was no doubt the sniper knew what this was about, if the white snowflake pattern on the blue background wasn´t Christmas-y enough to tell...

"Chris..."

"Merry Christmas...", he just whispered and extended it with more determination to his partner. Piers was so cute as he carefully took it as if it was made of glass and settled it on his lap. For a few seconds, he just looked at it with some emotions dancing over his face. Chris was really curious how he would react to the contents of it.

A moment later, his lover already dug his fingers into the wrap, tearing it off with great enthusiasm like a little boy. Like Chris imagined him doing years ago with his family. It brought a big smile to Chris´ lips.

Once more their eyes met as both the sniper´s hands found the lid as if asking for permission. And once more Chris felt like his heart might explode from the adorableness. Those hazel eyes lit up the moment Chris nodded and the package was opened impatiently.

Light brown fur appeared as soon as the piece of cardboard hit the ground. The shape of a small dog sat in the box, a green handkerchief wrapped around its neck.

And Piers already wanted to give a small scream in happy disbelief until he realized something and swallowed it down.

That wasn´t a real dog.

His hands found the small body, the feeling of the fabric a strong difference to real fur. Piers pulled the stuffed animal carefully out of the box, still as if it was a living animal. Big, black plastic eyes stared at him, a tongue hanging out, one ear up and the other folded.

"I know it... isn´t what you might expected. It´s not... a real dog, sorry. But I thought it would be better to wait with that..."

Piers turned to him, his expression blank. Chris felt like apologizing again but his partner settled the dog aside, scooted closer and hugged him tightly. "This is the best Christmas ever...", he mumbled and kissed Chris´ cheek gently.

"Y-Yeah? You think so? ...I saw him on the street and thought how good he fitted to... Bearfield..." Chris gestured with a hand to their bedroom, knowing the teddy bear from the festival resting on their bed like it always did since then.

"He does! They´re like you and me...", Piers felt like pointing out the obvious before jumping up and getting the little thing in question, placing it right next to the dog. "You´re so thoughtful. It even has this thing...!" Carefully he reached out to touch the neckerchief.

Chris chuckled lightly. "It originally didn´t. Had to ask some of the clerks if they could do something about it."

"I see!" Both of them continued to sit there for a little while and Piers sometimes had to run his hand over both of the soft plushies as he ripped his eyes from the black window and caught Chris how he followed the actions on the TV.

"So you´re not gonna ask about your present?"

Chris seemed to be a bit taken aback and blinked at him as if he had never expected that question. "Well, actually I thought we didn´t want to give something to each other so... I would be fine if you don´t have one..."

"I know we said that but you got something as well, right?~"

Not being able to argue with that, the older one just shrugged and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, sure, so... where is it then?"

"It´s been here ever since you came back into the room!", Piers purred with a smug grin, his hand gesturing toward the Christmas tree. It stood there, proud and green like always and at the first look, Chris couldn't figure out what Piers meant. It was just like before he left. The veteran frowned and crawled closer and just when he sat right in front of it, his chocolate eyes spotted a small, box under it, standing close to the root and in the shade, almost unnoticeable.

That definitely hadn´t been here before. It made sense now why Piers had sent him away.

He reached for it and held the small thing in his hand, observing the sparkling, silver wrapping that Piers had chosen and how it would twinkle if he twisted it towards the light. It looked neat and tidy in contrary to his. Chris had to grin. Piers was good at so many things.

Said one joined him at the Christmas tree, scooting close to his side with the cutest, boyish smile in a while. "Unwrap it!"

But before he did that, Chris already reached over, strong arms wrapping around Piers´ lithe frame instead and pulling him in, never letting go of the tiny package in one hand though. "Gosh, kid... You really got something, huh?"

It was a pretty strong reaction, especially for such a small thing, but maybe Chris just never got that many presents by other people except Claire. Piers gladly leaned in and enjoyed the warmth. The tiny moment meant so much to him with Chris and him swapping Christmas gifts, sappy music and TV, the festive lights. He could stay in it forever.

"Come on, it´s Christmas and I´m your lover! I couldn´t just give you nothing!", was whispered close to his ear and momentarily Chris couldn´t help but squeeze the sniper a little tighter. "Fuck, I don´t deserve you..."

Piers kissed his cheek, Chris noticed through the fog of emotions coursing through him. Slowly, he peeled himself off the younger one, not without kissing him on his own.

"Unwrap it!", Piers insisted once more, this time pushing it close to Chris´ chest with a demanding grunt. Like he was told, Chris´ fingernails dug into it and tore it open, maybe a little eagerly. The box was opened just as fast and Chris topped in his tracks, his eyes wide and blinking at what was inside.

A snow globe sat in the box, it´s glass surface shining in the light. The veteran grabbed it with shaking fingers and lifted it up to be able to see it better. It was easy, it was simple. It had the typical snow inside, of course. Apart from that a bench, three tress, bushes and two people playing in the snow in the foreground.

It reminded Chris of this morning.

"Can you think of why I wanted to go out with you this morning, now...?"

His eyes found Piers´. They were warm, so was the smile on his lips. "I know, just like you, what happened today one year ago. Edonia was horrible and we lost them. Yes, maybe we could have been able to do something about it but no one at the time knew and even someone like you can´t rewind time."

His soft voice gave the impression of being even more gentle right now than usual and Chris wasn´t in the condition to do anything but listen to his trusted partner.

"Their deaths were sad but they certainly weren´t in vain. We kept fighting and eventually we got through it together. They´d be proud." His hands reached out to find the older one´s.

"I saw you the past few weeks. How you´d get quieter, more inward. I knew you were thinking about it a lot. I bought you this and went out with you today to make you understand that you don´t have to keep feeling that way forever. You mourned their deaths and I´m sure they would be flattered but the time has come to move on and get some nice memories about Christmas in your mind instead. That´s Christmas for us now..."

With these words, he pushed the globe against Chris´ frame again.

"Just being together and enjoying the holidays..."

Brown found hazel and Chris just looked at his lover for a long time.

Edonia took his whole team from him. Andy, Ben and Carl had been with them for some time already, a trusted and solid part of Alpha. Finn had been new but Chris had started to feel protective of the young rookie incredibly fast. Maybe like a father. He had felt the strong urge to not let anything happen to him but in the end, he still failed.

He didn´t want to imagine how his relatives reacted when they got the message. And that on Christmas.

Chris asked himself if Piers had to bring the bad news but he didn´t think so. After all, the sniper was out, just looking for him when he couldn't remember shit and got his sorry ass out of all that mess like a coward.

His eyes found the globe and one of his fingers slightly traced where the glass ended in a wooden base to stand on. He gave a light shake, just barely and the snow flew up, covering both of the thickly clothed figures in a gentle layer.

But Christmas was more than their death date. More than anything, it was a holiday. One Chris really used to like before that, as well. It was there so you could be with your loved ones, play some games maybe, all eat on the same table and swap some gifts of affection.

It was there to be celebrated not to cry over it. And Piers managed to slowly make him realize that once more. He was here with him, baked him some cookies, made him some tea and had a present to get him back on tracks with the Christmas spirit.

The feeling of gratitude hit him like a train wreck and his arms couldn't help but find the sniper once more, pulling him as close as possible in this position, kneeling on the floor.

"Thank you..."

"You´re welcome..."

And Piers knew at that moment that Chris was fine, that he was over it and Christmas... was just Christmas now.


	45. Old Faces

 

  
New Year´s was calm, calmer than Christmas and almost passed them by. They drank some alcohol and went down with the countdown on TV just for the night to end in some heated activities after Chris had brought a bad pun with 'a big bang'.  
Apart from that, it had been calm and 2014 started on the next morning just like 2013 had ended. With just two people laying in bed and loving each other. With vacation still being a thing, no one of them really had any responsibility that would require leaving the bed.

  
But the days passed by faster than they would have liked and before they knew what hit them, the middle of January arrived and a big game came crawling closer for Chris´ team.

  
The closer said day came, the more Chris was freaking out. Because, hell, everybody could see that these kids weren´t anywhere close to being a competition.

  
.  
.  
.

  
\-----------------------------

 

 

  
_14th of January 2014_

 

  
Chris´ hands nervously rubbed against each other. His trademark everything-is-not-okay-sign. Together with the way his breathing picked up, almost unnoticeable, you´d think he was about to get himself in a life and death situation. Of course not literally but still pretty damn close for his new standards.

  
Hazel eyes watched him with little side glances, whenever they had time to leave the road in front of them. Piers had fought with himself for the past 15 minutes to talk to Chris, maybe calm him a little. He didn´t exactly know why he didn´t do it yet. Could be that he knew that Chris didn´t like to be called out on him being uncomfortable. The former sniper clenched the steering wheel in his grip hard, digging nails into leather before he finally worked up a sigh.

  
"You taught them well."

  
The response came fast, immediately after the words left Piers´ mouth, way too fast and high pitched. "I sure fucking hope so. Because hell, there isn´t much I know about that and I was expected to bring them all through this game!"

  
"Chris... it´s baseball."

  
Piers was a realist. He always had thought Chris was that as well. Brown Eyes gleamed back at him and Piers gladly shifted his back to the front.

  
It couldn´t be far anymore. As the destination, the baseball field of the opponents was chosen so Piers and Chris had started the drive in their new, old, gray car right after lunch and now, maybe three-quarters of an hours later, finally arrived the town called Omaha, located pretty close to the border to Iowa. Now they just had to find that damn field and Piers swore, Chris was getting more nervous with every mile and every minute.

  
"I know that, okay? It´s just... since I´m at the university we have a decent amount of money in our corner and I´m home on all the weekends, vacations and in between. Don't tell me you´re not as happy about that as I am because I know you are!"  
And despite Chris´ rough voice, Piers had to grin. Because fate really was kind to them lately.

  
"Of course I am, Chris. But just like I said. It´s a baseball game and you´re barely training these kids for a few weeks. They can´t expect from you to make a team of winner´s out of them overnight. If anything they should be grateful they found someone in time at all before this. No one´s gonna be mad at you if it doesn´t work and they sure as hell won´t fire you!"  
Piers could understand Chris felt that way. He probably would as well in his position. But as it was now, Piers really wasn´t working up a sweat at all.

  
He really had tried to help Chris in the past days. Had talked with him about his strategy or more, listened to Chris explaining it to him. Piers didn´t really understand much of it. That could have had two potential reasons. The first that Piers just never really was interested in baseball and just visited one or two games in his life. Of that Chris strategy and plans were just shit and uncoordinated. Piers prayed to everything holy that it was the first choice.

  
They continued to follow the main street, following some signs that appeared here and there, leading them to the own university of the city. It was bigger than Lincoln, kinda surprising seeing that it was the capital, but at least not by much.   
Chris grunted, still not being satisfied and now decided to stare out the window, his heartbeat picking up with every building passing them by.

  
"I just hope they see it the same way..."

  
Piers dropped the issue with a sigh, partly because he already saw the school´s gates at the end of the road. No word left their mouths anymore all the way until Piers drove onto the campus and parked the car in a free spot.

  
"Alright, here it goes..."

  
If Chris wasn´t mistaken he could already see some of his kids standing in the distance on the schoolyard. They made an uncertain and totally anxious impression, huddled together there in a small group. It totally represented their behavior on the field and Chris thought with a sigh, how the way they carried themselves was totally justified.

  
They exited the car and Chris heard Piers´ steps walking around to his side and coming to stand right next to him. "So... that´s 'our' team, yeah?"

  
It sounded more than doubting, Piers had to feel their mood as well. Just now did Chris realize that Piers never saw his proteges before. This sure wasn´t the best first impression.

  
"Yeah...", he mumbled and saw the defeat in front of his own eyes already. He leaned tiredly against the car, needing some support with his weak knees. Nebraska University stood no chance. He didn´t need to see the enemy to already know that.   
But a hand found his, prying it away from the car´s cold steel door. Together with Piers´ sweet voice, it succeeded in calming his busy mind. "They look a little insecure. But... that´s what the trainer is there for. I´m sure you can give them a little pep talk and they´ll appreciate it..."

  
Brown eyes slipped open from worried lids and found the face of his lover. It was wearing one of these dazzling smiles that allowed no bullshit and once again, Chris was amazed how beautiful he was. The scars on the right side of his face slowly faded, at least seemed to be paler than he remembered them. He couldn´t just imagine that, right? He´d actually have to look at the picture they made together on the day they got together, later at home.

  
But they were almost unrecognizable, just when you got real close. He was so proud of the other one and suddenly leaned over to press their lips together. Piers was surprised for the entirety of maybe the split of a second before kissing him back with the same enthusiasm. He figured Chris might need that.

  
He let his boyfriend do as he pleased for another few long moments but then still pulled away and that just in the right moment, as the team now turned around and spotted them, or better Chris and started to awkwardly make their way over.   
Piers squeezed his hand a little tighter, briefly, before he began to feel the pressure subsiding. Right, that was probably better... Chris really liked these kids but this was maybe a little too weird. And the fact that Piers began to pull away first just made clear that he would probably be uncomfortable with it. So Chris opened his hand, letting Piers´ slip right out of it and when it did, he immediately felt a little more vulnerable, anxious.

  
"Well, you´re about to meet the kids..."

  
"Awesome, I always wanted to see you handle some kids. You´re probably the daddest of dads."

  
He went to give Piers a sideways glance, not really knowing of what he should do with that comment but didn´t find the time when all of the ten players stood around them in a half circle with Cole speaking.

  
"Mr. Clemens... Ugh, we´re so glad you´re here...", he mumbled and Chris didn´t miss the way they all began to stare at Piers, not even trying to hide it. Then again, they were kids. And the sniper seemed to be little bugged by it, either way, smiling and turning his head away just enough so he wouldn´t have to look anyone in the eye.

  
These kids really believed in him and briefly, it made his heart swell in joy before he realized that they were probably putting their faith into the wrong person, after all, Chris was just as scared and clueless like them.

  
"I know, kiddo. Y´all just need to calm down for a moment.", he smiled at them even if it was fake and reached for Cole´s shoulders, in what he hoped would successfully get the nervous bunch back on track. He knew that it always did with the rookies and even now, he felt a deep breath go through them and the whole group seemed lighter somehow suddenly.

  
They continued to stand there for a little longer, comfortable silence settling in and he knew how the curiosity of the kids was probably burning right under their fingernails about just who Piers was. In the end, it was the only girl in the group, Michelle, who worked up the courage and looked right at Piers, letting out a gentle "Hello."

  
The sniper´s head spun in her direction and immediately her eyes lit up. Oh no. Michelle was around the age of Alyssa and Chris really didn´t need a second girl crushing on his boyfriend!

  
"Oh, erm, hi! How are you doing?" With all of them looking at him now, Piers did look really uncomfortable after all. And Michelle ignored his question right away just to ask one on her own. "What´s your name?", she purred in delight.   
Piers answered without missing a beat, after all, it was the name he already was using for the dog park. "Patrick... Yours?"

  
She was just about to say something but Chris sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. "Michelle. Her name is Michelle." He really didn´t need this right now. First, because Piers was fucking taken. Second, because he could imagine better things than Michelle getting distracted right before this important event.

  
She seemed to be less than pleased by him shutting her out just when she tried to get close to this hottie. But maybe he didn´t want her to, she thought. Maybe Mr. Clemens was related to this cutie pie and knew he already had a working relationship. Michelle decided to drop her advances for now. But just for the sake of the team.

  
"Alright, team!", Chris continued further and started to walk towards where he suspected the field, expecting them to follow. "Let´s give this our best shot!"

 

 

  
\-------------------------------------

 

 

  
Not even ten minutes later, they found themselves right next to said field. The podiums around them were filled by a few people. Not too many, just enough to say that it probably were just parents and families of the two teams. Still enough to make a defeat horribly embarrassing.

  
Chris had gathered them all around him, even Piers stood right next to him, still not saying much but observing and being a mental support. Chris was secretly very glad about it.

  
"Okay, just remember what I taught you..." An encouraging talk before the game was just as important as everything else, Chris learned. "The main thing about this is that you have fun. If you have that and are in it with your whole heart, it will be alright by itself. No pressure.", he continued in a low, calming voice. The kids nodded at him and they seemed a whole lot better than some minutes ago. Chris even managed to put himself a little at ease.

  
Right, Chris. Even if they lose, it´ll be alright. That thought lasted maybe some seconds before his eyes spotted another group of kids entering the field, coming to a stop not too far away from them. That must have been the other team from this school.   
They looked intimidating right from the start in their dark red uniform, just tall, strong young men who glared daggers at them immediately. Chris felt the courage he just put into his kids, leave them again in the blink of an eye. That and his own.  
They were dead, no doubt. Even Piers´ hand that reached for his shoulder, holding it gently really couldn´t do anything anymore to stop Chris from seeing this going horribly.

  
"Mr. Clemens, Nebraska University baseball coach, right?"

  
Even if Chris had painfully tried to not look in that direction until now, a female voice made him do that neither less. The group of players parted to reveal the silhouette of a young woman, stepping over bravely. Her long, brunette hair swang in the wind despite her messy ponytail holding them together. She was wearing a short skirt, high heels and a blouse with way too much cleavage to be considerate okay as a teacher. The only thing that distantly indicated that she was a PE teacher was the clipboard in her hand. She looked a lot more like she belonged in an office or were a math teacher than coaching baseball. But Chris knew better than to judge.

  
In a way, she reminded him of Jill, the way she carried herself, self-assured and full of courage. And Chris had taken a beating from Jill more than once, her determined face telling him that dealing with this woman would be just as much a pain in his back.

  
"I heard of you, this is your first real game, huh? Great chance to prove yourself. But don´t worry, I and my boys won´t go too easy on you. After all, you´d like a real challenge, am I not right,...-" She leaned over now, all of Chris´ kids immediately backing up so she had enough space to purr right into his face, low so just the two of them would hear. "...Chris...?"

  
His eyes went immediately wide in surprise and fear. She knew his name... Who was she anyway?!

  
The wind picked up again in that very second, pushing her long bangs up the tiniest bit while she reached and removed the pair of thick, black glasses off the bridge of her nose. Two orbs of ice cold blue blinked at him and revived the memories of a mission 8 years ago.

  
"Jessica...", he whispered.

  
And his guess of who she was got confirmed right away. It was in the way she giggled and pushed herself away again, hands on her hips. Her hair was longer than he ever remembered and flat, not a single curl in it anymore.

  
"Heh, good guess but no. The name´s Miranda Reynolds. I´d like to be addressed as such." In a way quieter voice she continued. "You always see each other twice in life..."

  
It was Jessica, no doubt about it. The fact that she used a cover name just like Chris and Piers these days just made it more obvious than before and Chris wasn´t stupid, he knew those eyes.

  
The years almost left no signs on her, still as beautiful and pretty as ever, even though that never meant much to Chris. She still seemed to have a way too extroverted wardrobe but he knew she never cared about stares or comments about it.

  
The only question that kept swirling in his mind, penetrating anything else was why she was here and coaching a fucking baseball team for christ´s sake. Then again, he never thought he´d end up like that as well. The world was small, after all.

  
"Right...", he managed, almost stumbling over his own words that he had to bring in order before letting out. It felt like his breath was forced right out of him. "I see... Miss Reynolds, then... You´re leading these boys...?"

  
Concentrate on the matter at hand, Chris. Don´t make a wrong move. He was suddenly aware of all the consequences this could have. Wasn´t Jessica an agent that betrayed the BSAA? What if she was still working for some bioterror organization? Were they after them already as well?! Chris´ breath quickened in silent panic. She knew him and she had the power of blowing their cover right here and now.

  
But she obviously had no interest in it. At least for the moment.

  
"Yes... Welcome to Omaha..." And one of the evilest grins stole itself on her lips, reminding him instantly of what this woman was capable. She turned around without another word, stepping over to her team which didn´t look over any more, not even once.

  
Chris felt his shoulders dropping and he had to walk a couple steps away from his team, they couldn´t see how bad that had shaken him. But Piers did, he always knew when something was up and he followed right after him, saying the first thing after so long. He had tried to hold himself in the background mostly but this concerned him.

  
"Who was that...?"

  
"I´d... rather not tell you."


	46. Goodbye My Fiend

 

 

This was horrible. Downright mortifying. Not even half an hour passed and the game was already in its third inning. That was way too fast. But there was one simple reason this game was running so incredibly rushed. 

Chris’ team was losing. Big time. Making a big fool out of themselves. Omaha was handing their asses to them.

“Third strike! You're out!” Cole looked up in shock as he realized he just fucked up three balls in a row. As the visiting team, Lincoln had been allowed to start first but that all wouldn't save them if they couldn't even hit the ball to save their lives. 

Chris had to watch all of this from the sidelines, watching in silence and flinching whenever another thing went completely wrong. They were even worse than in training and that had already scared Chris.  He had tried really hard to prepare them for this but…

He sighed. Cole looked over in his direction when he left his position. Their eyes met and Chris tried to offer him a smile but he couldn't.

In the end, Cole just turned his head away, ashamed of himself and everything else as he left in silence. It was Toby’s turn after this but still no change. Chris sank his face into his hands, trying hard to ignore the crowd around him that started to give angry sounds from them here and there.

Even Piers, who made countless attempts to cheer Chris up, wouldn't get far.

"It´s okay..."

"It would be okay if they at least scored a little! But this is just embarrassing...!"

"You had no time to train them properly, this isn´t your fault."

"He´s right. You better listen to your little friend, Chris!"

Both of them flinched as Jessica´s lithe figure stepped next to them, sass in her whole stance from the way she swung her hips to how rudely loud she was chewing her gum. Chris´ eyes frantically looked around, panicking if someone picked up how loud she had shouted his name. But the only one who seemed to have noticed and frowned deeply now was Piers.

"Excuse me, Miss Reynolds... What did you just say...?"

But she completely ignored his question and came closer, wrapping an arm around Piers casually as if they knew each other for years already. Chris got a stinging and screaming feeling deep in his gut at the way she was holding him.

"You see, sweetheart. Him and I, we have a few things to talk about. Wouldn´t I be allowed to steal him from you for a couple of minutes? It looks like... the game is about to head into a break anyways..."

It was at that exact moment, as if she could see ahead of time, that Tony messed up his third ball and the round was over, all players leaving the field. The coincidence of that timing scared Chris but he would do anything right now to get her to take a couple of steps back from Piers. Or a few states away.

"I´ll go with her for now. But don´t worry, we´ll make it quick, you hear me?"

"Yeah... Make it quick~..."

Piers´ look was one full over dumbstruck and confusion. But he seemed way too puzzled at the moment to even come up with protest as Jessica finally took her hands away from him but not without brushing her cleavage against his arm way too tight for an accident. That little...

Chris felt her grabbing his hand instead, suddenly yanking him with her over to the school building. So many things happened inside him as he watched her brunette hair getting thrashed around by the wind. It´s been so many years since he saw her, working alongside her, then getting betrayed. Chris knew he should feel a lot more rage when he did, especially since her actions almost killed them all, almost got to Parker. But so many years passed and Chris found it hard to hold a grudge. Now, even more, when he basically had nothing to do with biohazards anymore. If there was one person in this world that Chris could never forgive it was Wesker but not Jessica.

He still hoped on her good intentions. After all, she didn´t shoot them yet... right?

They entered one of the hallways when Jessica suddenly stopped, almost causing Chris to stumble over her. There was no one here, the school already abandoned at this hour if not for the baseball game outside. This school looked kinda similar to Lincoln. The halls were maybe a bit friendlier, painted in warm, orange colors. Maybe he should suggest this for Lincoln. He was surprised himself what trivial thoughts he could have in a situation like that.

Jessica turned around to him, just looking at him for a second before speaking.

"I never thought I´d see you again like this. You literally haven´t changed.", her sweet voice rang out to him.

"Never thought so either. Or at least I hoped so..."

"Oh, now you´re just being rude."

"You think you´d be any different in my situation after what you´ve done!?"

She started to walk around him now, terribly slow and Chris knew from that second this wasn´t a friendly chat. Never was. "Let´s cut the chit-chat. I know at least one thing I would have done differently in your situation. Not letting myself get found..."

Chris felt like his blood froze in his veins at her tone. Even more so when she came to stand in front of him again, smirking like usual. "You see, Tricell isn´t dead. Never was. Someone else took over the operations. There´ll always be someone that does!"

Chris knew that better than anyone. She didn´t need to tell him.

"So that´s what it´s still about... I had problems believing you changed your course and trained teenagers in baseball now..."

"Oh no, you see, the payment is too bad for that. I´ve set my eyes on something way more precious...", she glared at him and Chris was aware of the fact that both he and Piers were in the biggest danger. Jessica was still with Tricell, one of the worst bioterror organizations right after Umbrella that he ever encountered. And she knew about him. She most likely knew about Piers, whyever would she be here otherwise.

Just like the BSAA did their best job to track them down, the villains started to join this game now. And Chris didn´t know who he should be more afraid of. He just knew that he had to get away. Grab Piers and get away.

He didn´t respond to her last statement, just continued to stare at her with the darkest expression. It obviously triggered Jessica to keep talking. She always liked hearing herself talk anyways.

"That little friend of yours is important. He has the C-virus and he was able to control it somehow. I´m here to get him. You can give him to me and I´ll let you go, Chris. It´s easy as that.~"

"Just over my cold, dead body...", he growled and Jessica laughed out. Actually laughed out. It caused him to just get angrier and for a second he thought about just reaching for her neck and strangling her until she would stop moving. But that wasn´t him. That wasn´t what Chris Redfield would have done. And it´s certainly not what John Clemens was going to do.

"Ever the hero, Chris. Even in 'retirement'... I bet you have a lot of reasons to keep him with you...", she giggled. But not that good kind of giggle. "You should stop being so selfish, he´s gonna have it good with us."

They stared at each other for the longest time, Jessica apparently still trying to get her will without any violence. But the seconds passed silently and eventually, she figured she wouldn´t have any luck. Chris wouldn´t give her what she wanted. He never did, she thought in her head.

"Otherwise...", she picked up again where she left, getting sick and tired of this. "It might get you killed one day..." She reached to fumble for something in her pockets and Chris´ eyes went wide. In shock, he realized what it was when the butt of a gun began shining in her hand. A thousand flashbacks came to him from situations in his life that already passed him by whenever he was held at gunpoint. At least a dozen times someone already had the opportunity to kill him with the pull of a trigger. He always escaped through luck but maybe just today he met his match, his unfortunate demise.

"Ch-... John...?"

The voice of his partner, entering the hall, rang out to both of them and Jessica reacted in the split of a second, pushing the gun back where it couldn´t be seen before she grabbed him by the shoulders, pushing him back until they stood under a random doorway and she kissed him.

Just like that, she kissed him.

Immediately, the veteran tried to push her away from him, totally confused about what was even happening. He didn´t understand anything anymore. Didn´t she want to kill him right now?!

But everything already came too late and Piers turned around the corner, stopping dead in his tracks at the picture in front of him. Chris thought he saw the sniper´s heart breaking in his eyes right then and there.

"What are...-" His voice didn´t even make it to the last words before he stopped, the voice out of his mouth cracking. Just now was Chris able to finally push Jessica off of him, said one stumbling a few steps backwards. "Listen! I can explain this, darling..."

But Jessica left him no chance, wrapping an arm around his waist like she did with Piers before. She gestured up, over their heads, were a mistletoe was still hanging even after so long after the holidays. "Don´t worry, dear... We were just celebrating the holiday spirit in this game...!~" It sounded ridiculous as if Jessica wasn´t even trying to make up excuses. Which she didn´t, that was obvious in the next second. "Or maybe he just got rid of you finally, honey...~" She leaned up to kiss Chris´ cheek but wouldn´t get any far as Piers already dashed over and collided with her side, throwing his whole weight against her in a fit of anger.

She fell to the ground with a little yelp, sounding way too cute for her sinister actions. Piers stood over her with the most furious expression Chris had ever seen on him, blowing air from his nose and a growl out of his throat.

"Don´t fucking touch him!"

"But he was the one that-..."

"I know him, believe me... He would never do that!"

The degree of trust that Piers showed him flattered Chris deeply to the core and when Piers´ head whipped around to look at him, Chris just saw love, nothing else. The sniper hurried over to him fast and held his hands the moment he stood in front of him.

Chris needed a moment to get himself under control, he knew this situation held no room for romance. But the way Piers began to gently smile was breathtaking. And Chris had to admit that little show of jealousy flushed him as well. Piers trusted him with his whole being.

"Did she do anything to you...?!"

Until now Piers wasn´t even aware of the danger they were in and Chris quickly shook his head to get his mind to focus. He needed to get Piers out of here, Jessica had a gun!

"Baby, listen, we need to g-..."

"Piers, Piers... Piers... That might have been the stupidest decision you´ve ever made..."

Both of them turned around to find Jessica fighting to get to her feet again. When she finally did, she just threw them that kind of grin again. The one that scared Chris so.

It must have been that moment that Piers also reached the conclusion something was up and he dropped his voice in volume, unsure. Chris felt how he held his hands tighter, his palms beginning to get sweaty.

"Sorry, ma´am. That´s not my name..."

"Ah... So you´re not just a BOW... but also a bad liar... Piers."

The look he gave her was one of total dumbstruck and he tried to look at Chris but Jessica already explained. "Jessica Sherawat. I´m with Tricell. You have something that we want, dear. And I´m just gonna take it from you.~"

Piers frowned, just slowly following her words. He knew Tricell and he also knew suddenly that they should be really afraid. His eyes met Chris but for once they seemed clueless as well.

"I don´t have anything that you could want..."

"Nice try, C-virus!"

In the next moment, Jessica went back to her original plan and decided to draw her gun, aiming it right at the pair. Their eyes went wide in panic and it satisfied her so much to see them like that. "Listen here, Nivans. I´m not giving you a chance here. You´re gonna come with me. And if I have to use force, then so be it. You proved to survive worse than a bullet..."

The tension was so thick in the air that you could physically feel it. No one moved a muscle for the longest time. Until Chris once more found his morale, it build up like it used to and pushed his carefulness that he put on in the last months right back. He wasn´t a fucking baseball coach that would stand here and wait until she would hurt and take his boyfriend away. He was Chris Redfield and everything inside him screamed to do the right thing like it used to do in the field.

The veteran grabbed his lover at the shoulders and pushed him behind his bigger frame, sheeting him completely from her eyes. "Like I said... You won´t get him as long as I´m still alive..."

"And I said... you´ll have to die then!"

The gun in her hand gave the tiniest shake, she hesitated but tried to cover it up with taking a better aim. The seconds stretched and shortly, for a brief moment, something shifted in her eyes and Chris hoped to God she came to her senses. But her fire red lips parted into a sad, weak smile and let out a few almost inaudible words.

"Forgive me, it was nice knowing you."

She pulled the trigger.


	47. Cut And Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today is my birthday, yay! As a celebration, I present you a chapter, even if a little short. I even managed to draw a cover for the fic in the last few days, you can find it here on my Tumblr if you wanna look at it. 
> 
> http://phylalayla.tumblr.com/post/174296648997/after-an-eternity-of-wanting-to-do-this-i-finally

 

 

Thinking back, Chris still couldn't recall everything in detail. It all happened too fast, too loud, too much.

Jessica had pulled the trigger on him and time seemed to have stopped as he realized in the split of a second that this was probably it, finally after so many close calls. He had this before, this small moment before apparent immediate death where you remember so many things, regret most and wished you could relive them all again. Redo and make everything alright. He had it this time as well and one side of him thought about the easiness of how it would end and that finally, the suffering would stop. The other half just regretted that he couldn´t have been stronger for Piers.

But before the bullet ever collided with him, ripping him to shreds, something hard fell onto him from behind and he realized in a second, it was Piers.

When Chris had felt paralyzed by the situation, it had put Piers into motion. Because the other possibility wasn't to be accepted.

The veteran felt himself getting squished between the cold floor and Piers´ weight on top of him, pressing down. But none of that was as painful as what could have been in the worst case.

Chris needed a second to catch his breath, he wasn´t long as trained as what he used to be and all the adrenaline wasn´t enough to stop him from panting. Piers, though, collected himself better, gave an angry growl that sounded way too deep and primal for it to be normal. The sniper pushed himself upright as good as he could right now, kneeling over Chris and staring right back at Sherawat.

Chris´ own brown eyes glanced over his shoulder, noticing a small, smoking hole in the wall behind them. That could have been him if not for Piers. Jessica began to grunt, a stream of curses leaving her mouth and causing Chris to shift his much-needed attention on her again.

But the agent´s angry outburst was short-lived and she barely lowered her gun a little to take aim on them once more, obviously wanting to finish the deed hastily before they had time to recover.

But something was off. Chris noticed it first, his boyfriend on top of him growling like a frightened animal, shifting his weight over Chris from knee to knee as if getting ready to jump his prey as a last line of defense. Jessica noticed it second. It was in the way the sniper bared his teeth, his eyes beginning to glow and crackling noises filling the air.

She didn´t need to be told to know it was the virus.

She had to hurry. She mumbled a last "Say your prayers" before she wanted to release another shot but Piers´ voice spoke up and was so deep and so unlike human it got the blood in her veins to feel cold and freezing.

"That... might have been the worst decision you´ve ever made... Sherawat...", he let out slow, obviously quoting her from earlier and finding joy in the way she gritted her teeth.

Chris felt the electric buzz all around Piers from being so close and he knew at that moment that Piers was long gone again, like before whenever the virus came out. It hadn't happened in so long and the veteran had thought it would never come out again but this situation was so intense, it made sense now more than ever.

Briefly, he wondered if the virus was aware of the enemy or just raging blindly until it would kill them both. But suddenly, he felt a palm on his back, almost absentmindedly stroking him slow, bringing him not even a shred of pain despite that Chris heard the static pop, from the corner of his eyes, saw the lights flashing that came from said hand.

"I got you, human...", was whispered in his ear and these few words were spoken with care and love, still completely unhuman but it barely mattered right now. This... thing was ready to protect and defend his life just like its host´s.

"I know...", he muttered right back but it was swallowed by the loud bang of a second shot ranging out.

Jessica didn´t hesitate to shoot them again, this time rather aimed at Piers than Chris but she would take what she could get. What she didn't expect was the whole room suddenly lighting up like thunder itself had just stricken them. It was so bright she had to shield her eyes, next thing she knew was her getting zapped heavily and she lost her footing, fell to the ground, the gun scattering a bit over the floor while she could just howl in pain.

It took several seconds before the blinding light subsided again, revealing the sight of Piers cowering over Chris, shielding the other´s entire body with his own. Little sparks of electricity still danced over their forms and continued to do so even when Piers eventually managed to lift his head.

He spotted the bullet, laying there on the ground merely a foot or two away and he heaved a long breath, relieved that his desperate plan had worked. The shockwave of his own lightning had been enough to stop the bullet from the impact. It had seemed ridiculous but then again, there had been other ridiculous things in their past and even in his possessed state, the sniper was thankful that their luck still continued like that, even after such a long break.

"God... I´m getting too old... I thought I was finally over that point of having to deal with such shit for good!"

The voice came from underneath him and sounded strained. Immediately, Piers lifted himself a bit, hoping it would be easier on Chris but said one still groaned as if he was in the biggest pain.

"I´m sorry but in all honesty, you should be grateful I saved you, human...", he just gave back and he would have laughed if fully himself. As things were right now, he felt everything like through a fog, the virus having the most control of the actions happening inside him.

But there was one thing he knew without a doubt. And that was damn important. That Chris and he both had to get out of here alive. He extended his hand towards his lover who took it in the beat of a second, pulling himself into a standing position just like Piers. Said one usually would have gotten pulled down by Chris but not with his advanced strength.

From the corner of his sight, Piers noticed how Jessica began to shift in her laying position. Oh hell no. He turned towards her, causing Chris to do so as well.

One, two seconds passed by in silence and each of them had their own thoughts before Piers spoke first, causing Chris to look at him concerned.

"Let´s kill her."

"What?! No!"

They were no murderers. They had taken enough lives in their line of work. Sure, 'just' infected. But these infected were once humans as well. Was it too much to ask for... to just let the killing stop once and for all? Chris was so tired of it all. He had hoped Piers would have thought the same. But he knew the real Piers would have agreed with him, that was the point. As things were right now though, Piers merely looked at him and began walking over to Jessica and the gun just scattered a few feet in front of her.

"Didn´t you hear me?! No!" Growling from behind gritted teeth, Chris went after him immediately and just wished that that version of Piers would respect his opinion just like the original.

He grabbed the other by the arm, yanking hard and Piers snapped around so fast, Chris momentarily got really scared, even flinched, and just expected the virus to go against him now too. "Your sense of justice is cute, I have to give you that. But don´t be foolish now, Chris, and make a mistake that gets us both in trouble."

There was a growl in the other´s voice but somehow the fact that it used his name, made him feel at ease a lot more.

"It might do! But it´s the right thing to do and you know it, too! You´re not like that anymore. Please just... let us go. Do it for me..."

Piers stared at him for a long time and Chris thought he saw a little hazel sparkle in his eyes before the sniper sighed and grabbed his hand tightly. It zapped him a little and he knew exactly that the other still wasn't agreeing one hundred percent.

"Hell, putting up with this host is the worst..." It was so faint, Chris could have easily mistaken it. Then again, it would fit C´s behavior.

Suddenly, Chris felt himself getting dragged. Piers was moving along the corridor he came in here, fast as they both realized that Jessica groggily raised her head with a growl. Their steps got more hastily until they eventually ran, through the double doors and onto the schoolyard. In the distance, you could see the playfield´s lights and a voice through a speaker was loud and clear, announcing that they would pick up the game where they left off in the next three minutes.

Without realizing it, Chris came to a stop and hesitated. The game. What about his kids? They had to get away but these poor things counted on him to be there...

"Chris..." The voice was more loving and gentle when he ever heard it with C´s trademark growl in it. "I know. But we gotta go!"

Just slowly was Chris able to look at him.

"If they would know your situation, they would want you to go. Chris, this isn´t about the game anymore. TriCell is after us and they won´t hesitate to use force, you do realize this, right?"

A slow nod of his head.

"Then please..."

He never heard him beg in this state. It was like flicking a switch and Chris blinked out of his thoughts, even more so when they could hear the sound of high heels on the linoleum floor inside. Jessica was behind them.

Immediately, they fell back in their running and headed over to their car as fast as possible. They could spot it as soon as they set foot in the car park and Chris heard Piers scream at him through the fog of adrenaline and fear. "You gotta drive! Piers is gonna come through again. And when he does, he´s not in the right state to steer a car!"

Chris nodded subconsciously, just understanding half of it but getting the message. When they were at their destination, he ripped open the car door, causing a shake to go through the whole vehicle. He heard Piers do the same and in the split of a second, Chris twisted his keys in the ignition, the car roaring back to life with a tired and exhausted cough because it was so old.

Chris had no time to look anywhere else as he already slammed his foot on the gas but Piers did. His head flew to the right, catching a glimpse of Jessica standing on the school´s gate now, glaring after them and panting heavily. She wasn´t alone though. The 'kids' from her baseball team suddenly lined up left and right from her, wearing the same bitter expression and Piers realized that these young men were never there to play baseball in the first place. They all belonged to Jessica and were probably there to keep everything secure for the most part. TriCell sent a whole team to annihilate him. They weren´t playing games.

Piers frowned, his eyes staying so long on them that he eventually had to glance at them through the rear mirror when Chris was speeding off. Right before Chris was turning around a corner, he saw them all heading to a big, black van that didn´t stand far away from their car the whole time. He didn't need to see them entering to know that they weren´t done yet. "Fuck..."

"Fuck what?", Chris immediately asked and the tension in his voice was as clear as day. 

"Fuck, they´re after us..." Piers turned forwards again, about to say more before Chris saw from the corner of his eyes how he suddenly collapsed a little into himself, his eyes falling shut and his whole form lifeless. "Wha-?!"

Which was also the exact same moment when Chris saw in the rear mirror how another car broke out from the street behind him and he connected two and two. Jessica. "Goddamnit!"

Why did Piers have to fall unconscious right now all of the sudden?! He could use his goddamn advice. Chris had no problem imagining that it was Piers´ conscience right now that broke through again and that was why he wasn´t aware right now. But... the timing was more than shitty!


	48. A Little Dream

 

 

Chris tried to stay calm and collect his thoughts. The first step and the only important thing right now was, that he lost the other car. However he might do that. But he needed to. He didn´t dare thinking about anything that would come after that. He just needed to lose TriCell.

Omaha had big streets, a lot of traffic, multiple lanes. He could just hope to God and anything beyond that he would somehow be able to shake them off through that. But driving like a damn drunkard also put up the risk of some cops showing up. This wasn´t GTA after all. But leaving the city and trying it on the highways and forest roads wasn´t an option. They had a Jeep and he a goddamn mini.

Even if Chris didn´t like the idea one bit, he speeded onto the next bigger main street with two lanes in each direction. He heard angry honking behind him, pretty sure that he just almost caused an accident. Recklessness could be his end in this. Not just this but if the others would attract police, they sure as hell wouldn´t rest until they got them as well. And if TriCell got a chance to tell them who the pair was… Not just the bad ones were against them in this game. They had to fear the good guys as well.

Chris honestly couldn´t tell if their pursuers were still behind them. He couldn´t see them for now through the mass of cars behind them but it never was that easy before. And it sure wouldn´t start getting easy now all of the sudden.

Piers next to him, groaned a little, slowly coming back to life as he blinked open his eyes and held his head.

"Piers! Oh god, Piers... Are you alright?!"

Chris´ eyes jumped from the street to his lover and back, nervously. But there was too much traffic, too much happening and he had to put his priority on the road, huffing under his breath.

Said one nodded groggily for the entirety of maybe a few seconds before he seemed to remember what happened and snapped back into here and now.

"Chris? Where´s Tricell?"

Brown eyes jumped to the rear mirror and caught a glance of black color shining through all the colorful vehicles behind them.

"Right there..."

His voice sounded suddenly so calm and he himself was surprised about this. His mind was racing and he didn´t want to scare Piers but he came up with no ideas.

"What are we gonna do...?"

"..."

He felt hazel eyes lying on him, demanding an answer but getting none. The worst thing about this was that they were coming closer, pulling risky maneuvers to get in front of other cars and cover some distance. It was very easy to hear and see.

Chris himself didn´t have the courage to harass the other drivers like that and he thought of it as too dangerous so it left him no other choice but to think about something else.

"The next side street is the one we´re taking... I want you to hold onto something."

Piers didn´t even question him anymore. They were in the left lane and the sniper thought Chris would get ready when the next right turn came, in form of getting on the right lane so they would have enough time to pull in.

Instead, Chris stayed on said left lane for as long as possible and Piers saw it coming, his fingernails digging in the seat both sides from him when his partner ripped the steering wheel to the right in the last second, causing the car to abruptly change direction with screeching tires.

Luckily, no one had been right from him and Chris was able to steer the car right onto that side street by just a bit. He wasted no time to check on his love or anything else, just kept driving, using these few precious seconds he had bought them. He couldn´t see the other car in the rear mirror, probably meaning his plan had worked and Jessica had seen it too late as he vanished, their car not getting the turn. So either they had to stop and drive backwards, something incredibly stupid on such a fast street. Or they would take the next side street, trying to somehow make their way to them.

"This was fucking insane! You´re insane!"

"But it worked!", Chris gave back in the same volume. He knew that had been reckless. A car could have come from behind them and rammed their right side. Chris could have missed the turn and hit the wall, for Christ's sake.

Piers sighed, glancing around. They were on a much smaller street now, houses left and right from them. "Technically I´d say we have to keep going right, so we don´t run into them..."

"I know, Piers...", Chris gave back in a more grumpy tone then he had intended. Of course, he didn´t mean it, not at all, but the tension hung thick in the air and Chris was highly concentrated, trying to find the next street that would lead them further in the opposite direction. His eyes were dancing up and down the side of the road, his fingers by now sweaty on the wheel.

It didn´t take them too long before the row of houses parted for a street that was much greener now, firs standing on every open space, their color kinda breaking through the majority of white snow.

When Chris steered their car inside, he could have sworn that he saw for the split of a second something black in the rear mirror. Immediately, his heartbeat picked up and he felt like panicking a bit but as soon as they were around the corner, nothing was following them and Chris knew it wasn´t too ridiculous to think that he just imagined it.

The beauty and calm feeling of the road, they just drove in emitted was enough to calm his whole conscience once more. Snowmen, Christmas lights somebody didn´t take down yet.

He thought it was safe enough to glimpse over to his partner again who leaned his head on his hand, elbow resting against the door as he was just staring out. Piers didn´t look alright. Then again, how could he possibly in this situation?

"I´m sorry...", Chris suddenly heard himself saying and not a second passed by before Piers turned to him.

"For what...?"

"Well... I dragged us there. Sure, I had no idea what would wait there but... they must have somehow figured out who I was and that we´d be there..."

"Yeah, but none of this is still your fault! It´s not like you ran around, telling everyone your real name."

Piers held eye contact with Chris for the longest time before said one had to break it to concentrate on the street again. Piers was right. Chris had done everything to cover all traces of his old life, always sticking perfectly to his act and new character.

But TriCell was TriCell and Chris didn´t doubt their agents were pretty damn perfect at their job as well and figured all of this out with minimal effort, no matter how hard he had tried. If such a huge company like TriCell wanted to find you they would find you. Just like the BSAA had already managed once.

Maybe... they would really never find a place to rest after all.

Because they sure as hell couldn´t go back to Lincoln. Chris couldn´t go back to the University and Piers could forget about his part-time job at the dog park.

So what would they do now? Despite not having an answer to that, Chris followed the road back onto a different highway, heading in the direction of Lincoln. Piers noticed but said nothing.

After ten minutes they left the city behind themselves, dead silence inside the car, and still following the roads in the direction of their temporary home. It was as if they had come to a silent agreement to go back neither less, despite the dangers. Even if it was just for one more evening. One more hour. One little chance to gather their most important belongings, stuff them in the trailer and return to the life before Lincoln.

When three-quarters of an hour passed and the pair was almost back at the city border, it had started to become dark around them. And it was barely 4 pm. Another thing Piers hated about the winter. Chris suddenly spoke up, killing the silence that had settled down so long ago.

"Piers, I need you to understand that we just go upstairs real quick to get our things and start up the trailer again. And when I say real quick, I mean it. Just that what you can carry, we´re not gonna get up there a second time..."

They were kinda playing with fire here, right now. With a ticking clock.

TriCell knew where he worked. It was just a matter of a few hours for them to figure out where they lived, probably. If they didn´t already have taps on that.

His lover didn´t respond in a long time so Chris´eyes jumped over briefly like they had done already so often on this ride. Just when he looked, did Piers nod but it was slow and almost lethargic, he didn´t even look at him. It must have been hard on the kid, Chris could understand. After all, he was wishing for nothing else but living in peace together with Piers as well.

Piers had told him so many stories, dreams, wishes. Things he wanted in life. Things that Chris had promised him gullibly. Lincoln seemed like a way to reach it. Now it was gone. Like every little attempt prior to that.

The veteran couldn´t stand to see the other like that and roamed his head for things to say. When he finally had them, he hummed in thoughts and shrugged, unsure about opening this conversation.

"...Let´s try Canada..."

He felt hazel eyes burning gazes into his side at that comment. The idea honestly didn't sound like a bad decision in his head. Canada was a nice country, beautiful landscape and it was supposed to be open-minded and polite, wasn´t it? Also... if they would make it there... maybe everyone after them would have a harder time following them if they weren´t on US ground anymore...

The only negative side he could see in this, and that was maybe what bothered Piers, was the weather. Stereotypes made you believe it was ass cold up there and maybe it was but Chris had never been there and hated to believe general opinions without seeing it himself.

"I´m sorry to break it to you, Chris but without IDs, we´re not gonna make it over the border..."

That was true though. But they would cross that bridge when they got there, like always. Because apart from that statement Piers didn´t even sound that distant to the idea.

"These days it´s easy to find someone that fakes them for you..." Chris had never thought he´d say something like that. That was highly illegal. But perhaps they had gone too far down the road already to care about that.

The younger one sighed quietly, fighting with himself. In a way, Chris was totally right. If the distance they had gone wasn´t enough yet, they would just have to go further. But leaving the US? Piers wasn't the biggest patriot, just like Chris. They both were aware that America did a lot of bad shit and liked to see itself bigger and greater than it actually was. But neither less, it was the place he was born in. He was American.

He thought he could keep a little of his old life with Nebraska, at least the environment was familiar. He thought he could stay where he felt at home. This was what it was all about. But maybe he could even start to feel there at home. The single most important thing was that Chris was with him.

"I guess so..."

"Well, that´s my offer... If that is too much risk for you, we can still choose Alaska..."

Alaska?! Sure, Alaska was even further away than Canada but American. Technically you could go there but surely there was no plane on this planet that would get you there without an ID either. And hell... Alaska was even colder! What was Chris thinking?!

"Heh, thanks. But no, thanks. If I´d have to choose, I guess we can take the country of moose and maple syrup."

His attempt to lighten the mood was appreciated and Chris chuckled quietly. But there was still something forced about it. Piers blamed it on the recent events but... after Chris stopped, silence came over them again. And this time it was that kind of silence that made it obvious that not all was said yet.

Piers frowned at the atmosphere and slowly looked over, watching Chris, how his eyes observed the dark road but still seemed out of it. What was wrong?

He was about to ask but Chris opened his mouth to speak. First, just an uncertain breath left his lips. How should he say that? Should he even say something at all? Maybe it was totally inappropriate. But there was a thought in his mind for the longest time...

"Chris, are you okay?", he heard his lover ask and for the love of god, he really didn´t mean to scare him! Not at all. So he pushed himself to talk, even if just to put Piers at ease.

"Well... you know... at least Canada allows gay marriage... I just thought we could-..." He stopped himself from talking any further when he noticed how a twitch went through Piers at the words. It was violent and a lot more than Chris had expected as a reaction.

"What?!"

Chris flinched. It was loud so Chris had a hard time figuring the emotions inside out. Was Piers angry? Was he just surprised? It wasn´t as if Chris just proposed to him... Because he didn´t! It had just been... a thought! And damn, he had been nervous about even voicing it. Now he knew why.

"I-It´s nothing, Piers! I just thought... I should mention that. I mean... sooner or later, we..." They were just dating for a few months, hell, it was way too early for that! Even if... in Chris´ mind, they had been through so much together already, walked through hell and back, lost each other and were reunited again. There was nothing on this planet that made Chris believe they wouldn´t last. Maybe even forever. And that was the point in marriage... no?

Chris was aware there had been a huge age gap between them from the start. Chris sometimes felt so old compared to Piers. Did he really still wanted to get married, after all? He always had thought he´d stay alone. But come the right person he had never ruled out the possibility. But maybe marriage meant a whole different thing to Piers. As a younger generation, maybe he just didn´t have the desire to bind himself fully to Chris. Which, of course, wouldn´t mean that they couldn´t stay together.

Suddenly, Chris just wished he hadn´t said that. At least not now. They never talked about it, maybe because they were so fresh, but Chris shouldn´t have brought that up with them on the run again. Maybe in front of a nice campfire. Not that he was proposing! Because he wasn´t!

"Sooner or later, we what?" Piers urged on, as impatient as he had never seen him before. He felt his wide eyes never stopping to stare at him.  "What were you 'just thinking'?!"

Chris frowned. What was Piers´ problem right now? Was the thought of that really so bad for the sniper? Chris didn´t know what to make of the situation but would respect Piers´ decision neither less. He didn´t need to be married to him to make him happy.

"You see, I think it´s just natural to do that, after some time, if you know the time is right... That´s why I said 'sooner or later'!", he answered truthfully.

A little silence followed and Chris searched the other´s eyes once more, finding them not backing away, big and surprised still.

"...Or don´t you think so...?"

Chris felt like talking to a wall right now. Just after some more long, passing seconds did Piers part his full lips hesitantly.

"So... you´re not asking me right now...? Because... it kinda sounded like that briefly."

Wait, was that disappointment in his voice...? Chris couldn´t help but blush. He tried not to think too much about it but that was anything but easy. The sniper wanted this after all?

"No, I´m not asking you right now.", Chris gave back with the calmest voice he could muster. "We´re not long enough dating for that. Which doesn´t rule out the possibility of that happening, because I really like the thought of you and me together like that."

He smiled, he couldn´t keep himself from doing it even if he wanted. And it seemed to get even broader when he heard his partner whisper. "Let´s get the fuck to Canada..."


	49. Want To Try Again?

 

Everything happened as fast as possible when Chris parked the car on the side of the road in front of their apartment complex and they both hopped out. Chris momentarily hesitated and kept standing in front of the old car before he put the keys in the door lock and left them there. They couldn´t keep it anyways and someone would surely know what to do with it. This chapter was about to be closed for good.

Piers just watched but followed Chris´ train of mental thoughts, turning away from it the moment Chris did and began to walk at a fast pace. Piers was so glad it was already so dark outside, giving him at least some feeling of security about what they were doing.

Never before had they followed the sideways up to the front door that fast. And never before had Chris the keys so fast in his hand and twisted them in the lock so they could enter in a haste.

Running up the stairs almost caused them to stumble over their own feet. Piers hoped they weren´t too loud, on the other side their neighbors sure didn´t care and also wouldn´t ever see them again. They got to their floor and entered, both of them barely thinking as Chris already dragged two backpacks from beneath the bed and threw them on it.

"Pack some warm clothes. I´m gonna get some food from the kitchen!"

And just as fast as they came rushing into the bedroom, Chris was also gone again. It allowed Piers to stop shortly and breathe. Sure, he couldn´t do it for long but these one, two seconds were needed.

Fuck, what was happening? He didn´t want to go back to the way they lived before. Was it so hard for people to leave them alone? All of this because of him. Sometimes he still wondered what would have happened if no one ever found him. Chris would maybe be happier that way than he was now.

But that time spent here wasn´t at all so bad. It had proven to feel really cozy and domestic after some little troubles. Wasn´t the opportunity, that it could be like that again, enough? Enough to try one more time? The possibility that it was gonna work out this time was always there.

The sniper ripped open the doors of their wardrobe, keen and sharp eyes scanning everything as fast as they could before reaching for the ones they would need the most. The ones they liked the most.

They still didn´t own much but it was definitely too much to bring with them. Maybe if it had been safer and they had more time. So he had to choose. And it wasn´t easy for the most part. Piers wasn´t exactly a materialistic person. Neither was Chris. Living on the field for months with basically nothing made you feel that way. That stuff like that didn´t matter too much and you could do good without them. But leaving a whole life and its memories behind was hard.

So when he was done, he made throughout sure to leave a little space on top for something important. Without hesitation, he reached for the little bear and dog on their bed, the snowglobe he gave Chris too. Somewhere he knew he still had his old badge too. The Polaroid camera.

All of these things were mementos. Things that meant too much to leave them, erase them from their lives. Each of them stood for something and these were events that became more and more important with time and trouble passing.

Piers placed them all as time allowed into the bags and looked around the room once more. He thought he had everything they needed. It was sure everything they could carry.

But just as he was about to zip up the bags and leave the room to meet the other, his phone gave a buzz in his pocket and it caused Piers to frown in confusion. Literally, no one wrote to him, let alone had this number but Chris, a few people from work and Alyssa. First one was in the kitchen right now, the second option was unlikely and the latter... Alyssa contacted him weeks back for the last time.

But maybe that was just the reason she reached out now.

The sniper knew they were under pressure but still allowed himself to pull out the small device and throw a little glance over it. And that´s when all color left his face and he froze, just his eyes dancing again and again over the few lines.

 

_4:41 pm_

_From: Unknown number_

_You two didn´t really think you could run forever, now did you? Hate to break it to you, but the BSAA is an organization you better not screw around with. Especially you two should actually know that._

_As you´re reading this, Nivans, people are on the way to you to collect you and this time you better just let it happen. For you guys own safety._

_Sincerely,_

_Jackass_

J-Jackass?! Piers knew that codename and placed it on Quint Cetcham immediately, that weird and creepy IT guy from the tech department. He didn't know him well, might have talked with him once or twice on the hallways, but he did his job extraordinarily well and must have... gotten his number somehow. Probably even hacked his phone, the sniper realized in fear. He... he... had been tracking them down!

The BSAA was just around the corner!

It sunk into his brain slowly and when it did, he almost panicked. Not just TriCell, but also their former employer was back into this little game of cat and mouse, putting more pressure onto the pair than ever before.

He needed to tell Chris. Just grab what you could and then bail.

Grabbing both of the backpacks, he threw them over his shoulder and ran, not even bothering anymore to see if he had missed another thing. It hardly was important anymore.

He ran into his lover on the hallway who raised an eyebrow at his hasty, nervous behavior, carrying a bag full of groceries. "You okay? You look like you´ve seen a ghost?"

And instead of explaining it himself, because he didn´t have any air anymore, Piers opened the message and held it in Chris´ face. "We need to go! Now!" It barely took Chris a second to grasp the meaning of this and his eyes went wide like Piers´ before.

He felt how Chris took a hold of his hand, in panic but still ever so gentle. He more or less dragged Piers over to the door until the younger one was finally able to run by himself again. They practically sprinted down the stairs, leaving the apartment wide open behind them. Don´t look back. Don´t waste just one second.

The staircase seemed to stretch forever but before long they reached the lowest floor and it were just a few more meters to the front door. But Chris suddenly stopped right in front of it, making Piers almost stumble into him. He was the first to hear it.

"Okay, apparently that´s the building..."

"So what now? You just want us to ring the bell and hope they let us in? After Cetcham´s stupid idea of telling them, that won´t happen!"

Voices from outside. Coming closer. Familiar voices.

Chris felt paralyzed. The only thing he still registered, besides the voices growing in volume, was Piers´ warm hand that held his tighter and tighter.

"Chris... let us go...!"

But it was way too late and the familiar voice now also got a face to it when two figures stepped closer and the big window embedded inside the front door allowed view onto them.

Blue, judging eyes bore right into his soul. Long, blonde hair was thrown around in the wind, just held down by a messy ponytail. Full lips that used to speak his name softly more often than not.

Now Jill looked more like she was ready to rip off his head. The moment she seemed to realize who she was looking at here, the agent dropped to her knees and Chris heard the sound of her lockpicks making fast work on the door. He knew how experienced she was and also knew, that left them with just a few moments to act.

Immediately, the veteran turned on his heels, heading right in the other direction and leaving Piers no choice but to follow him.

The apartment complex had a back entrance. And that was their only escape route now.

There was a high chance they knew about it. So while Jill was able to kick open the door, Chris heard behind them, whoever that other person was probably was heading to the exit right now from the other side. They just had to be faster!

"Chris, stop! Just give up! It´s been long enough!"

Her steps seemed so fast and close it got him to doubt all of their actions. But they had to keep fighting. Until the last breath. Until the last hour. He had promised that.

The adrenaline kept him on his toes, mobilizing a speed and endurance he thought were long gone as the pair sprinted through the dark corridors that marked the end of the basement and the saving exit coming closer.

The old, rusty door stood no chance against Chris´ weight as he practically threw himself against it, causing a loud bang to erupt through the air as it collided with the wall. The veteran immediately kept running and dragged them both out, not knowing how close Jill was or anything at all.

They were on the wide, green meadow behind the complex now and that meant there were maybe another 20 meters between them and their trailer. It already stood there in the distance, Chris was able to see it, like a safe haven that they had to reach at all costs.

So they kept going. Because there was no other choice than that.

Chris heard Piers´ loud panting behind him, he himself was running out of breath slowly too. Just a little further. They were already halfway there!

_Bang_

Suddenly there was that loud sound and Chris knew it well enough to know that that had been a shot. They were shooting at them! It sounded like it had been close but the lack of Piers screaming and pain on his own body told him it had missed, probably hit the grass behind them. Jill was a good shot, she wouldn´t have missed if she didn´t want to, especially not on such a small distance. It was a warning. A clear one.

But he was well aware that the next one, a serious shot, wouldn´t hit or even be aimed at him. Piers was right behind him, he was their target and making a way easier hit. He needed to react to that or they would coldly just drop the sniper behind his back.

His eyes found the big tree that stood in the middle of the space, he didn´t know why but his legs carried him over there suddenly. Maybe he could at least put himself between Piers and the threat, having something that gave him some cover from behind. Not that he knew what to do after that.

He still didn´t have a plan when they reached it and Chris carelessly dropped the bag of groceries to the ground so he had both his hands free. In a swift movement, he shoved Piers against the stump, turned around himself and picked up a big branch that lied on the ground. He doubted that it would be really helpful nor that he could defend himself with it if Jill decided to play seriously. But it was better than nothing.

The moment he came to face them, time seemed to stand still. Jill stood there, maybe 2 meters away from them, pointing her gun right at him. Leon was next to her, doing the same. He must have been the other voice they had heard. Chris had never once looked back so he hadn´t noticed he had caught up to them as well.

The silence stretched, neither of them ready to break it yet. It took so long until it was finally Jill to do it.

"Chris... no one has to get hurt, just give us Nivans..."

"And you really think I´d do that, yeah?" If anything, he gripped the branch in his hands even tighter. He didn´t want to start a fight, heaven knew how bad his chances were, if they even existed at all. But if it would have to be, he knew he would defend Piers to his very last breath. 

"This game of hide and seek has been going on for long enough, Chris. We have a history together so I´m trying to be as nice as I can about this. But eventually, I´ll run out of patience here. This is your last chance or we´ll take him by force.", Leon threw in as well.

And with gritted teeth, Chris answered, "Well, I´d like to see you try then..."

This possibly could have been the wrong answer very well. These two people used to be his friends, few of which he considered even closest to him. It hurt to see these events unfolding in front of his eyes right now. But he knew they had no choice. And he had no choice either.

"Don´t make me do something I might regret, Redfield..."

A weak tug on his jacket got Chris to hesitate and shift his attention back to what he was desperately trying to protect. Piers.

Said one looked up at him with big eyes as if he was begging him not to do anything stupid like usual. And if Chris wasn´t totally wrong, he thought he could see the sniper shiver slightly. He just hoped it was from the cold. He couldn´t let Piers think at any moment that they weren´t gonna get out of here.

"Chris... don´t..."

His voice was quiet, so... unlike him that Chris hesitated. He didn´t like that at all. Piers was scared. Looked so tired and exhausted as well. There was a kind of resignation he hadn´t ever seen in his eyes before, the entire journey. He had given up. Right then and there in this moment.

Despite him being so silent, it must have been enough for the other two to hear, neither less.

"That´s right, Chris. Listen to Nivans. You´ve run for so long, it´s time to give in now. You can rest now...", Jill tried to reason and her intentions were so obvious. Trying to lure them into thinking that Piers would be fine if they give up. That he wouldn´t get tortured with a thousand new fluids and needles, using him for experiments like they did before until they would eventually get tired of him and expose of him like it had been planned from the very beginning.

No matter the cost, that was something Chris couldn´t and would not allow to happen.

"Rest, huh? Is your idea of rest watching him suffer? I´m not stupid, I´ve seen how you treated him before we bailed in the first place. No one deserves to go back to that hell..."

"Chris... I know, we know how guilty you feel for everything that happened in Lanshiang, what happened to Lieutenant Nivans but you can´t just hope to redeem it by simply running away with him. Things came like they are now and Nivans is a threat, as much as I hate to say it. He needs... control..."

Control, she said. Chris resisted the urge to scoff at her comment. The scientist did a lot of things to him. But certainly never giving him any control.

Chris was actually surprised Jill used such words. Hadn´t she spend the bigger part of three years in quarantine? And hadn´t she been the one that used the word 'inhumane' for that time? Guess the chain of command was just working like that, putting her into charge of collecting one of the 'infected' now.

"You used to be infected!", Chris suddenly threw in, loud in volume to drown out all the voices in his head that got stronger and told him that there was no way out this time. That was indeed the end of their run. The end of the new life they tried to establish.

There was gonna be no house. There was gonna be no garden. And there was gonna be no dog that would mess up their lawn. It was going back to white walls and long corridors wrapped in silence.

It was going back to see Piers rot in a corner, rounded by people in lab coats that held no empathy, held no compassion whatsoever.

"So I was. But you hardly can compare T with C. I got my vaccine in time, I submitted to what had to be done to get me back onto the right path. I followed their orders and their advice and that got me out. It´s Nivans´ turn to do that now."

It was still half a lie. Piers had gotten his vaccine or what they believed was a good vaccine at the time. Muller´s blood. It had worked, still did but the fact that Piers still had powers unlike any human... that would be enough to make them keep prodding. Until they found something better.

And there was a good possibility that that would never be the case. Piers would stay how he is now. Not a monster but not clean enough to be considered human. Not human enough to be left alone. Until they got fed up with this game and took the smaller risk of just ending it. No matter how Chris turned all of this in his head, it didn´t hold the outcome he wanted for the sniper anywhere.

"All you keep telling me is bullshit. Piers is gonna stay with me. And that until the end. If you really want him, you´ll have to drop me first if you like it or not. I´m not backing off of this one. Not again. Not again will I disappoint someone that would have needed my help. I´m here now and for as long as I breathe, he will be as well, with me."

Jill´s eyelids sank, her hands began to tremble almost unnoticeable. There was a long silence and Chris knew her good enough to know that something was happening inside her. He didn´t know what it was. His hope was telling him she began to feel sympathy, his rational thinking told him that this could very well also be a charade.

"Chris, please... I don´t wanna... do anything to the both of you... Please just come with us..."

 Another small silence. Chris knew his answer. So did they.

"No... I can´t let this happen. The odds are against us, I know that. This is why I need your help..." Maybe it was time to turn the tables here. It was the last stray he could hold onto. "Jill... Piers is fine. He might be infected but he managed to stay with me this whole time and not... have any outbreaks..." He might had to lie about that one. "He isn´t a threat. He is a wonderful person, still in control. I know he would give his life for me one more time. So would I for him."

He continued to look deeply into her eyes, even when a frown came onto her face.

"Piers and I are gonna leave. We tried it before but maybe it just wasn´t far enough. If you let us we´ll vanish over the border to Canada. And we´ll just be gone. You won´t hear from us again. It won´t be your problem..."

With every word he spoke, he thought she was breaking more and more. He knew Jill for so long, they had been the best friends and partners for so long. He knew her like no one else and she could often read him like an open book. All of these years couldn´t have been wasted.

Jill knew his life, his fears, his inner struggle. She understood how tired he was, just wanted all of this to end. She knew... and she hesitated.

"Please, Jill. Let us go and let us be happy..." He felt his own words getting stuck in his throat but he needed to say them. They needed to hear them. With all of his heart, he whispered, "... I love him..."

Blue eyes looked at him surprised, they were wide and couldn't believe it. Jill had always sensed some attraction coming from Piers but...

And just like that, she slowly lowered her gun. Not like Leon. Said one glanced over to the blonde. And didn't like what she was doing one bit.

"Jill, this is enough! We´re not here to question the job but get it done...! I don´t like looking like the bad one here either but do you want to be responsible if the boy really causes something like an outbreak?!"

Leon wasn´t as surprised. He still had his doubts about what Angela told him. But apparently, she never had lied. They both were dating. Not that this conclusion was changing anything. As much as Leon hated it, they needed to bring Chris and Piers to the BSAA HQ.

"Leon...", Jill sighed and wanted to continue speaking, just like Chris in that exact same moment. But neither of them got out a word before Piers pushed himself past Chris and took two steps towards their 'enemy'.

Immediately Jill aimed her gun at him again, two sets of blues eyes sharp on the sniper. Piers came to a halt and met their gaze with big orbs. Time was slowing down in Chris´ head as he just watched him in disbelief. There was a voice inside his head screaming at him to stop him, Piers was doing something stupid right now. But he couldn´t move, knowing if he would dash over there as well now, one of them could shoot just out of reflex. Their fingers on the trigger were already shaking anyways. Fuck, Chris almost had them already!

"Ms. Valentine... I´ll come with you willingly, showing no signs of disobedience whatsoever! But I beg you if I do, you have to promise me that the Captain has to suffer no consequences. Nothing of this was his fault. I... I talked him into it, he had no idea what he was getting into!"

Chris gasped after hearing that. What? Was Piers really just thinking about him again? That selfless bastard! It was always the same with him!

"Piers, stop it! Don´t let them touch you!"

"Chris, I have to..."

"You don´t! Listen, Piers, if they let us leave, we could-...!"

"They won´t!"

Somewhere in this fast series of barked replies, Piers turned to Chris, growling under his breath as they both got louder with each sentence. Piers had totally lost all hope and Chris couldn´t hope to bring it back.

"They´ll either take us with force or not... I just don´t want them to hurt you..."

The pair looked at each other for a long moment but Chris still wasn´t near the point where he admitted defeat. He didn´t want to believe that giving up was the only way now. Even with guns pointed at them.

"You´re always just thinking about everyone else but you first, huh...?"

"Not everyone. Just you."

Chris almost broke down at the reply. This boy was too pure. Why did the universe hate them so much and wouldn't grant them a bit of peace?

"Piers..."

"Okay, that´s about all the time I want to spend on this. If you can´t say goodbye, I´m gonna make it easy on you."

Both their heads whipped in Leon´s direction. Jill looked as if she too was a little scared of his words and actions as he fumbled with a little mechanism on the side of his gun before pointing it at Piers and pulling the trigger without a hint of hesitation.

_Zap_

No shot rang out, just an electric sound and Piers fell to the floor just like that, groaning and squirming. They zapped him. Sure, they needed him alive. But it must have been a pretty high voltage if it took care of Piers, someone who build up something like a small resistance to electricity.

"Piers!"

Chris immediately tensed up, baring his teeth and holding the branch in his hands tighter than ever. The urge to rush over to his boyfriend was overwhelming and eventually, the only thing that stopped him from doing so was Piers himself.

He suddenly began growling, familiar blue lightning dancing over his skin. His hands clawed into the grass and his eyes slowly stared over to Leon and Jill, shining in bright blue.

"Time to take... matters into my own hands now, it seems!", his voice darkly grumbled and Chris knew it wasn´t him. Obviously, C  started his own plan to keep Piers and him safe. But it was just making everything worse. Everything was going to hell!

Slowly, the sniper´s body fought to get on his feet. He managed eventually and turned to Jill and Leon who watched with a dissettling frown, both their gun tight in their hands. They exchanged a look real fast as if debating to shoot him again or not. Maybe this time even with a real bullet.

"You are ruining everything! Get lost!", he shouted as loud as he could and already charged at them. Chris could just stand there and watch as Leon and Jill dodged to different sides, leaving Piers to growl in frustration as he reached the spot where they just stood. Piers went to the right in a heartbeat, the direction Leon took. Apparently, he saw him as the bigger threat which was understandable.

C managed to get closer to Leon than it was safe, Leon always dodging backwards in a series of fast and elegant, little tiptoes, while Piers tried to land a hit with glowing fists.

"Let me show you how it feels to get tazed!"

But Leon never let him make contact, always dodging in the last second. And somewhere in between, he even got so much space between them that he could point the gun once more at him and shoot. Piers stopped in his tracks and groaned. But that was all the effect that it had when Piers continued right where he left off.

"Fighting electricity with electricity isn´t really a bright idea...!"

Leon tried it a couple more times but without success, until they heard a shout from not too far away.

"Well, if you're really asking for it!"

Jill stood there, her gun ready. And hers was sharp. Sharp as can be. And she shot.

A loud scream rang out, indicating that after so many dodged bullets today, this one had hit its target. Chris felt like screaming as well, just watching his lover slowly sinking to the ground with a bleeding shoulder. Irony wanted that it was the same shoulder that he got injured on by C some time ago.

"Piers! No, what are you doing!"

Letting the branch fall to the floor, Chris dashed over to the younger one, collapsing onto his knees right next to him. He desperately scrambled to pick him up somehow, at least get him to lean against his frame. When he finally turned him around to look at his face, he was met with weak, hazel eyes under heavy eyelids that kept falling shut over and over. No. This couldn't be.

Carefully, Chris clapped Piers´ cheek a bit, hoping to get a reaction and keeping him awake.

"Hey. Hey, baby... Look at me..."

Chris was aware that Jill and Leon were still around and they were as good as captured. But that was his smallest concern right now. All of his attention went to his partner. How could they?!

"Nnh... Chris...", Piers whispered as if he wasn´t even present with his mind anymore. Immediately, Chris´ angry eyes flew upwards and landed on Jill as he held Piers tighter against his chest. He needed to protect him. Until the last breath!

"You fucking... I can´t believe how fucking cruel you are!"

"Chris, I..."

Said one felt the air move behind him and he went stock still. He knew it was Leon. He knew it was over.

"I´m sorry, old pal. You´ll have to take a little nap as well..."

The last thing Chris felt was the butt of Leon´s gun hit his neck and all his lights went out.


End file.
